Fighting Back
by Good2Know
Summary: Rory and Jess fight to prove they belong together.
1. Chapter 1

**Fighting Back**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: This is my first attempt, be kind.**

Lane and Rory's apartment back yard

Rory and Lane are lounging on beach chairs each wearing large shades. They both appear to be asleep. 2 guys sit at a table near by playing poker. Suddenly a large shadow is cast over the girls.

"You're blocking my sun." Rory says sounding annoyed

"Huh you don't say."

Rory jumps she knows that voice "Jess" She whispers as she launches herself off her lounge and into his arms.

"Please be real." She begs as she runs her hands over his face and down his arms trying to convince herself he is actually there.

Jess places his hands on her face and stares into her beautiful blue eyes as he himself starts to well up.

"I'm real beautiful, I promise. And I'm not going anywhere again."

Rory can't help herself she sobs at the sound of his voice. Jess pulls her tightly to him and begins to whisper how much he loves her as he gently rocks her back and forth.

"Please don't cry. I can't stand it when you cry."

Jess himself has tears streaming down his cheeks. Rory pulls back as Jess leans in to kiss her sweetly. Rory deepens the kiss wrapping her self around him afraid to let him go. As Jess ends the kiss he leans his forehead against hers and smirks at her.

"I guess you missed me too."

Rory just gives him a watery smile. As each brush away the tears from the others face, Jess pulls her in for another tight embrace.

"Rory!!" Lane yells she had been calling her for awhile now with no response "What's going on? Is that Jess? I thought he was gone?"

The couple had completely forgotten they weren't alone, some how managing to wrap themselves in their own world.

"Huh?" Rory he asks dumbly "Oh Lane"

Rory slowly turns toward her friend never relinquishing her hold on Jess. At this point she noticed that the guys Zach, Lanes boyfriend, and Brent his best friend, have made their way over to Lane. They all are looking at her with a mixture of shock and confusion. Rory looks at her friends and back to Jess "Well" Rory unsure of where to begin "Lane, you remember Jess?"

"Unfortunately" she says glaring at him "So your back?"

"Yep" Jess quipped. "Nice to know you missed me."

Lane just continued to glare at him.

"I know you!" Zack says excitedly "Yah your Luke's nephew!" pointing at Jess, obviously proud of himself for figuring it out "Hey, didn't something happen and you were sent away? I never did get the details. It was so weird. Nobody would talk about what happened and as I'm sure you know, in this town nothing stays a secret. But Wow! You, you're a real mystery, an enigma." Zack nods his head impressed.

"Huh" Jess wasn't sure how to answer the strange boy and figured it was best not to say too much.

Brent has been looking Jess over, obviously sizing him up. Rory and he had been thrown together on more than one occasion when the group had gone out. Brent was intrigued by her. He had hoped that eventually they would become more than friends. She was fun to talk to and they liked a lot of the same movies and music. But he got the distinct impression that she wasn't looking for a relationship with anyone, and never pushed her. Seeing her wrapped around another guy though was definitely a blow to his ego.

"How do you know Rory?" Brent asked

"He broke her heart and ran away!" Lane blurted out before either she or Jess could answer

"Lane! That is not what happened!" "Isn't it?" Lane snapped, interrupting whatever else Rory was going to say "I mean I guess I wouldn't know. You refuse to talk about what actually happened. But I do know that you two were together. Then you disappear, leaving a note for your mother saying your ok and you're with Jess. You're gone for almost 5 months. Then one day you're back obviously devastated, Jess is gone, and you and your mom haven't spoken a civil word to each other in almost two years. I've never pushed you Rory, but now he's back and I can't watch you be destroyed again."

Lane stood in front of the couple arms tightly wrapped around her middle, tapping her foot with obvious agitation. Rory didn't know what to say. She turned to Jess and the two seemed to have a silent conversation with just their eyes. Finally she nodded and turned to Lane with a sigh.

"Your right, you deserve to know the truth. I never meant to shut you out. I just couldn't talk about it. It all just seemed too much and almost too private. Like it would be wrong to share it? I'm sorry I'm babbling. Do you think maybe the three of us could go in and talk?"

Zach immediately understood that Rory needed to speak to Lane alone. He excused himself and waved for Brent to follow him. But Brent wasn't so easily dismissed. He didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he knew Jess hurt Rory in some way. And he wasn't quite ready to leave her with him.

"Rory are you sure you want us to go?" Brent asked never taking his eyes off Jess "I don't know if we should leave you two alone with him." Brent looked to Rory and tried to take her hand and pull her away from Jess. "Maybe I should stay just in case?" Jess who was standing behind Rory with his arms wrapped around her waist began to tense up. Rory didn't want a fight. She knew Brent was just trying to protect her, even if it was misplaced. She shook her head at Brent and stepped backwards further into Jess's arms. "Well considering he's my husband I think it's safe."

Gasps were heard from all around. All eyes were focused on her trying to figure out if she was being serious. Finally Lane managed to speak.

"Your what?!!"

"My husband." Rory stated calmly "One of the many things we need to talk about. So if you guys will excuse us we need to go in."

Rory didn't wait to see if Lane was following her. She grabbed Jess's hand and began to pull him behind her into the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I can honestly say I was excited, yet terrified to read **

**What you all had to say. Thanks again. **

"Okay this is a pretty long story. And if I'm going to get through it you can't interrupt."

Jess and Rory had taken over the couch. She was sitting on his lap, and his arms were wrapped tightly around her. As she spoke she ran her hands through his hair. He seemed content to just to kiss her temple or bury his face in her hair. None of which went unnoticed by Lane, who was seated across from them in an overstuffed chair.

Lane just nodded, amazed at how happy her best friend looked. She couldn't remember the last time Rory looked truly happy. She knew whatever her friend was about to tell her was the reason.

Rory took a deep breath and looked at Jess willing him to give her the strength. Jess kissed her temple and squeezed her hand letting her know he wasn't going anywhere. Rory finally nodded her head and began to speak.

"A few months before spring break Jess and I decided we wanted to be together. I did all the responsible things my mother had pounded into my head since I turned 12. I went to her. We discussed it as adults. I told her I was ready, and although she wasn't thrilled she agreed to put me on the pill. Jess and I were always very careful. But two months later I missed my period."

Lane gasped at this point and looked like she was going to say something but Rory cut her off "You promised." She reminded her, the Korean girl nodded for her to continue

"So we went and got 3 different tests." shaking her head when the memory of the two of them nervously waiting for the results in her little bathroom popped into her head. "They all came back positive."

Rory also remembered she had thrown up at this point and Jess disappeared to the porch where he smoked half a pack of cigarettes in less than 10 minutes

"To say we were scared was an understatement." "We knew things with my mom were already strained when it came to Jess and this was going to kill her. But as scared as we were, we both decided we wanted our child."

Rory sighed "The day I finally got up the courage to tell her, I came home and found her in my room. She had been drinking with Sookie. It turns out my dad got his girlfriend pregnant. He decided to try to work it out for the baby's sake and was leaving my mom……again. Anyways she went off on this tangent about how I should be careful not to follow in her path. Not to let Jess or a baby ruin what I had been working for all these years. Not to be like her…if I found myself in trouble, that there were ways to fix it" Rory took a deep breath and shook her head to clear the memory "I knew she was drunk and probably didn't mean it. But I also knew she would see the baby and Jess as ruining my life. I couldn't stand that thought; I loved them both so much. I just wanted us to be together……"

Tears were streaming down Rory's face at this point and she could barely speak above a whisper. She didn't think she could continue, she looked to Jess with pleading eyes. Jess visibly swallowed as he leaned his forehead against hers and nodded. Pulling her into his arms as he rubbed her back soothingly he murmured

"It's alright Ror. Shhhh. I'll do it." Jess turned to Lane, and seemed to steal him self for what was to come.

"Rory found me at the diner that day, and told me about her mom. We decided we couldn't let our child be raised around people who would only see them as a mistake. We both knew what that felt like, and we never wanted it for them. So we decided to leave. We would go to Texas and get married. Since Rory wasn't 18, we tricked her dad into signing parental consent. Rory told him it was permission slip to go on a field trip that her mother forgot to sign. We left that night and were married 3 days later."

"We actually did pretty well for ourselves." Jess said smiling a little at the memory

"I got a job at a record store and Rory worked at the local book store. We got a little one bedroom apartment and started to save as much as we could for the baby. Unfortunately about four months after we left, Rory's grandparents tracked us down. It turns out they hired a private investigator. I came home one evening to find Lorelai, Richard and Emily berating Rory for getting herself into this mess. I don't know how long they were there, but Rory was crying and as soon as Emily saw me she started screaming at me for ruining her granddaughter's life. I of course screamed back at her….." Jess ran his hands through his hair "Man I bet the neighbors down the street could hear us."

Jess suddenly got quiet and turned to look at Rory

"I… I… didn't handle it right." He started to stutter. "I should have realized what this was doing to Rory…..got them out of there."

Rory took his hand but he didn't seem to notice "She started yelling at us too please just stop…And then….then…she just collapsed…There was so much blood…and she wouldn't answer me…"

Jess seemed trapped back in his own memories. He nervously ran his hands over his face and through his hair. Tears had formed in his eyes and Lane had never seen Jess so shaken. She couldn't match the obviously destroyed man in front of her to the sarcastic punk he used to show the world. It was Rory's turn to comfort him. She pulled his head into her chest and petted his hair cooing to him that it wasn't his fault, he didn't do anything wrong. Nothing could change what happened. Several minutes went by and nobody spoke a word. Finally Rory inhaled a deep breath, and looked at Lane. She still had tears in her eyes and she was obviously exhausted from telling the tale, but she seemed determined to continue. In a very shaky voice laced with tears Rory began.

"I'm sure you can guess at this point what happened. Our daughter was born September 23, 2 months premature and never took a single breath. The doctors said my blood pressure was too high and they weren't able to stop my labor. We…we named her Angel….."

Lane was crying herself at this point and reached over to squeeze Rory's hand letting her know she didn't have to finish if she didn't want to. Rory choked back a sob and took a minute to collect her self. Jess had calmed a little and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Jess never left my side and wouldn't let anyone come in till I said it was ok. My mom wanted to be by my side and even said how sorry she was. At first I was so happy to see her. I had lost my baby and I wanted her comfort. She tried, she said all the right things, but I could tell she was more relieved than anything. She told me it was over now and not to think of it. They wanted to pretend it didn't happen. I told her I wanted her to leave and that Jess and I would deal with this together".

Lane finally spoke for the first time unable to stop herself. "I'm so sorry for the both of you. But I don't understand why did you come home and why wasn't Jess with you?" Turning to Jess she couldn't keep the anger from her voice "She had just lost your child how could you leave?"

"Lane it wasn't like that. Jess never wanted to leave my side. In the end neither one of us had a choice. Now please, you promised you wouldn't interrupt. I'm almost doneand I promise you'll understand it all soon. Ok?"

Lane sat back in her chair eager to end this tale, and a little sorry for lashing out at Jess. "I'll keep quiet I promise. And I'm sorry Jess. But it's all just so…" Jess just nodded not taking offence

"It's fine Lane. Rory's your best friend I understand you wanting to protect her. Believe me."

Rory shakily began again "So the day I was to be released my grandparents came to my room with my mother and father in tow. They told us how if I didn't come home with them they were cutting off my trust fund and we would never see a penny. Jess of course told them he didn't care about the money, I meant more and we could support ourselves. This only managed to anger them more. They then informed us that they were going to press charges against Jess for statutory rape and kidnapping."

Lane gasped bringing her hands up to her mouth but didn't interrupt.

"We tried to fight them saying we were married and Jess was only a year and a half older. But some how, probably through a few friends that owed them favors they managed to get our marriage declared null and void. And without that license he was an adult who took a minor across state lines and had sex with her. I was disgusted and tried to plead our case to my parents. I couldn't believe they would go along with this. But my father just told me it was what was best. And my mother who I always thought would be on my side, suddenly turned into Emily babbling about how I would still have the life we dreamed about. That I could still go to Harvard and be a journalist, and I would eventually get passed what happened and realize that they were right."

Rory shook her head in disbelief. "How could they believe I would forget? Our little girl may be gone but she was real. She happened! We heard her heartbeat, and felt her kick. She even knew her daddy's voice and would react every time…..And…..And she was loved and wanted, whether they want to acknowledge her or not!"

Rory was screaming at this point and Lane felt so bad for making her relive this.

"Of course she was" Lane said trying to calm her.

Jess began rocking her as she sobbed. Lane got up not knowing what else to do. She let the couple alone in there grief, only coming back when Jess called to her, asking if she could bring Rory some water. Lane stepped hesitantly back into the room unsure of what she would find. Rory, still tear streaked and looking much older in the moment, accepted the water Lane held out to her.

"I'm sorry" she whispered "Sometimes I just can't help it. The anger just takes over"

Shaking her self she half smiled at Lane letting her know she was ok. "Let's finish this. Okay?"

Lane nodded knowing Rory wouldn't be able to do this a second time

"Where was I….So Jess was was ready to fight and go to jail if he had to, but I wouldn't let him. My grandparents are very powerful people and there was no telling what lengths they would go to."

Jess stood at this point and began to pace. "I still think we should have just run again".

Rory watched him, trying to catch his eye. "They knew we would want too, that's why they made sure to notify the local police to arrest you on sight if we tried."

Turning back to Lane "They barely allowed us to bury our daughter together. We brought Angel back to Stars Hollow. We buried her next to Jess's grandfather; Luke insisted his father would want it that way. Jess and I bought her a beautiful marker with the money we had saved. I'll have to take you there. I bring her new flowers every week from her mommy and daddy."

Jess stopped abruptly, and lifted her hands and kissed them, "thank you" he whispered seeming relieved in some way. He still didn't sit back down but some of his nervous energy seemed to dissipate. Rory smiled at him lovingly.

"I had hoped once we were home that they would let up a little. But Grandmother made it clear that any contact with me, she would immediately press charges."

Jess began to pace again, angrily running his hand through his hair.

"That bitch even threatened to ruin Luke's business. She's friends with the bank manager that holds his loan and she made it clear that if Luke tried to give me a place to stay she would make him pay for it. They had us in every possible way. We had no choice but to play along. Rory wasn't eighteen. We had no legal recourse and her family had enough money to buy any decision they wanted."

"So" Rory stated "We decided to wait them out."

She reached out a hand toward Jess and beckoned him to sit by her again. She kissed his cheek when he complied and took his hand in her own.

"What do you mean wait them out?" Lane asked.

"Well as hard as it was to watch Jess leave. We knew in less than a year and a half I would be 18 and they would have no say in my life." "So Jess went back to New York and I went home to my mothers. We wrote to each other with Luke's help, he sent our letters back and forth."

"I don't know what we would have done without Luke" Jess said suddenly "He really came through for us, I don't think we'll ever be able to repay him enough."

Rory nodded at him in complete agreement "As you know, my Grandparents convinced Chilton that I had been ill the last few months of school and to let me test out. I had enough credits and still graduated at the top of my class. When I wanted to move in with you my mother only agreed, as long as I continued to go to Yale and didn't try to see Jess."

Rory rolled her eyes at this "I hadn't talked to her in more than a month. She said something about maybe distance would help our relationship get back on track. I think she was relieved to have me gone."

Lane hated what had become of Rory and Lorelai's relationship. She was once very jealous of their mother/daughter bond. It was truly sad to see how estranged the two had become.

"Do you ever think you can forgive her?" she asked sadly.

Rory looked at her and shrugged her shoulders "Some days I try to tell myself that she did what she thought was best for me. But then, I visit my daughter's grave and I remember that her father hasn't been allowed to set foot there for more than a year and I can't help but resent her."

Lane nodded not knowing how she would handle what her best friend had gone through. Suddenly she smiled realizing what tomorrow was, and why Jess was back.

"Your birthday is tomorrow, you'll be 18!"

Rory instantly smiled and she and Jess exchanged grins.

"Yep!! Tomorrow were free!!" she couldn't help but bounce a little in her excitement "We already have our day planned. First stop were visiting our daughter…together."

Turning to Jess and locking eyes with him. "Then, were off to Hartford and the JP to renew our vows!!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, just the story itself.**

**AN: I decided this chapter should be from Lorelai's POV. (Sorry I misspelled her name earlier)**

**I'm hoping to show how the same events can be seen so differently. Plus I love Lorelai so I'm going to let her off the hook a little bit. Damn evil Emily!**

**To those who asked, the pregnancy occurs at the end of there senior year. Keg Max doesn't happen, Jimmy doesn't return. And I played with there ages a little too. I needed Jess to be a little older than Rory for the stories sake. **

Lorelai was startled awake. She had been having the same nightmare over and over since her last visit with Rory two weeks before. In it, Rory is a successful journalist living in Manhattan. Lorelai goes to visit her, excited and proud of what her daughter has accomplished. Rory has a large opulent apartment. She is dressed in the most expensive clothes and seems to have the perfect Ken doll boyfriend. As Lorelai watches she realizes how stiff her daughter has become, she seems almost robotic. She calls to her and as Rory turns she sees hatred flash in Rory's eyes. Lorelai gasps. As she watches, blood starts to seep down Rory's chest. There is a gaping hole where her heart should be. She looks down realizing something is in her hands, horrified to see Rory's still pumping heart clutched in her grasp.

"Don't worry mother" Rory says with her dead eyes "I didn't need it anymore"

Shaking her head to clear the last of the dream, she glimpses at her alarm clock. 4:30 am, she knows she won't be getting anymore sleep. She sighs and pushes her covers away. Looking around her room, her eyes land on a picture of her and Rory. It was taken 3 years prior in front of Luke's. They looked so happy. Rory's whole face was lit up including her eyes.

Rory's eyes seem so dull now. Lorelai tried to remember the last time she had seen her daughter actually smile and mean it. There relationship was almost nonexistent. They spoke to each other as strangers, dully exchanging facts about their lives. Rory would list all the things she had done that week in school, careful not to add anything personal about herself. Lorelai once made the mistake of asking about her social life. She still flinched when she remembered how Rory's eyes turned to ice. Her voice was full of malice as she informed her that she and Emily may be able to dictate where she lives, and what school she would go to. But she refused to allow them to prostitute her out to the highest bidder, she Rory insisted was still married no matter what the courts had to say about it. Lorelai later found out that Emily had tried to set her up with what she called a "suitable boy" earlier that week.

Were they really so wrong? How could Rory not see what they were trying to save her from? She knew Rory thought she loved Jess, and had the baby survived things would have been different. Lorelai would have accepted Jess as a part of their lives. She hated the thought of Rory's life in that little apartment, working long hours to pay every little bill. Jess didn't even have a high school diploma, and he had no intention of going back to school.

What kind of life did he seriously think he could provide for a wife and child? She hated it, but she also knew what it meant to do it on your own. She herself had run away to a potting shed instead of taking her families help. Yes….she hated the thought of it, but she would have found a way to support them. But Nature or maybe God knew better. And as much as it killed her to watch her daughter grieve, a part of her was relieved. Not that the baby was gone, but that Rory wouldn't have to struggle. She and Jess could go back to being teenagers; doing all the things they wanted before the pregnancy happened.

Unfortunately Rory didn't understand this. All she saw was relief and decided they were happy the baby was gone. She was so distraught; nobody could get through to her. And Jess was determined not to let anyone try. He blocked everyone from coming into her hospital room; he used his power as her husband to make sure she couldn't hear anyone else's point of view. Couldn't she see he was trying to keep her with him at all costs?

They had to get the court to annul the marriage before the doctors would allow them access to her. Lorelai was left with no choice; she had to do what was best for her daughter. So she turned to Emily and Richard for help. A large part of her detested the way they handled it. Jess wasn't a criminal; he didn't deserve to be treated like one. She didn't like the threat but what mattered most was getting Rory home. Jess was the one who skipped town once they got here. He could have swallowed his pride and gone back to living with Luke.

Lorelai grabbed her pillow off the bed and screamed into it in frustration. Nothing worked out the way she had hoped. Rory was home yes, she was even taking courses at Yale. But everything was a fight; she sarcastically went over her class schedule with her asking if each an every course met with her approval. She agreed that Rory could move into an off campus apartment with Lane hoping she would realize that she didn't want to control her life. Rory was positive that there were ulterior motives to letting her leave; she even asked if she had to worry about her phone being tapped. Lorelai, fed up with fighting with her yelled she didn't need to, she knew Jess wouldn't be calling.

Rory was no longer the sweet, happy girl she once was. She was bitter and resentful, blaming them for Jess leaving and ruining her life. She wouldn't listen to her when she tried to explain that Jess's leaving had nothing to do with them. Lorelai hated hearing Rory insist that Jess loved them and would never have left their side on his own. She was holding onto an image she created in her mind. It killed her to see the flowers she placed at Angel's grave, fooling herself that Jess would care that they were signed from him too. And the worst part of all is she's out of time. She has no more chances to convince her. Today Rory turns 18 and she will cut her out of her life for good.

God she needed coffee. Not just any coffee Luke's coffee. Luke….she thought as tears threatened to over take her. She lost him too. He had made it clear that she was no longer welcome in his place of business. Damnit! She was not going to let it end like this. If she wanted any chance of getting her daughter back, she needed to prove that Jess left town on his own. She'd even drag his ass back here if she had too. Her first step though was getting Luke on her side. Taking a quick look at the clock she realized that Luke would be opening up soon. Lorelai jumped up and ran for the shower. What does one wear to grovel?

**AN: Sorry about the lack of Lit in this chapter. I promise they'll be in the next. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story. Just the story itself.**

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. **

**Luke's Diner**

**5:00 AM **

Lorelai made her way to Luke's, glad the sun had yet to rise. Less people to witness her humiliation she thought. As she neared the diner her pace slowed. She could see him inside. He worked quickly, setting chairs on the floor, wiping down tables. As she studied him she noticed he seemed content almost happy. She wondered what put that look on his face and hoped whatever it was, would aid her in her cause.

Luke woke up in a good mood. He talked to Jess the night before, and still couldn't get over how happy his nephew sounded.

He could hear Rory in the background teasing him for bringing more books than clothes in his suitcases. She sounded happy. He even heard her giggle, when Jess alluded to not planning on spending much time dressed in the near future. It could easily be the most beautiful sound he'd heard in as long as he could remember. The two of them deserved a little happiness. They had lived through more in the last 2 years then most people twice their age would go through in all their lives. His step felt lighter this morning. He couldn't help but smile as he went through his morning ritual of getting the diner ready to open.

Lorelai couldn't make her legs move. Her feet seemed glued to the cracked sidewalk beneath them. She doesn't like not knowing what to expect. She likes to be in control of every situation. A scary similarity she shares with her mother. As carefree as Lorelai likes to pretend she is, she always has a plan. It's how she managed to keep a job and raise an infant alone at the tender age of 16. But at this moment she has no plan, she has no idea what to expect when she knocks on that diner door. She knows there is a good chance Luke won't let her in. That he will turn her away without listening to a word she has to say. She knows how Luke feels about family. Of course he would side with Jess in this. She could only hope he will be willing to hear her out.

He was so proud of them. His nephew had used the time away to make something of himself. Luke was amazed at all he had accomplished in such a short amount of time. He knew Jess felt he needed to prove himself and had worked hard to do just that. And Rory proved she was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. She stood up to everyone, including her mother when they all said she was wrong for believing in him. Luke still couldn't believe the lengths that Lorelai and her parents had gone through to remove Jess from Rory's life.

If annulling their marriage and threatening to press charges wasn't bad enough, they threatened to destroy His livelihood if he agreed to help them in anyway. It was this last threat that made Jess finally leave, he refused to put Luke or the diner at risk. Why wasn't it enough that they were home? Rory was safe under her mother's roof; did they have to run Jess out of town? It made Luke sick to believe Lorelai could have any part in forcing a grieving man to leave his child's mother, the day after they buried their daughter. And to use him to do it, she might as well have spat on everything they had been to each other all these years. He didn't think anything could convince him to give her another chance.

Outside Lorelai had finally gotten up the courage to knock on the diner door. She tentatively pears inside and raps her knuckles against the glass.

**Rory and Lane's Apartment**

**Rory's Room**

Rory laid her head on Jess's bare chest exhausted but unable to sleep. They had spent the night making love over and over. It was as if they had an overpowering need to touch and relearn every inch of the others body. Whenever one of them would start to fall asleep, the other would arouse them awake with a kiss or a whispered longing, and they would begin all over again. Rory had lost count of how many times, but it would never be enough. They were trying to make up for more than a year in one night.

"Well whatever else happens at least we know that still works" he whispered echoing his younger self.

"This" she said raising her head and wiggling her hips against him "Isn't quite what you meant back then"

"No" biting back a groan as he swatted her behind to make her behave. "Back then I was besotted enough to think I could be content to just kiss you senseless"

"Hey" Rory pretended to pout "Are you no longer so besotted"

He kissed her lips gently placing a stray hair behind her ear.

"No" He said in a whisper "Now I'm so lost in you I don't know where I begin"

Rory sighed giving herself up to him once again.

Jess slowly turned them onto their sides so they were facing each other, their legs tangled together, their arms wrapped tightly around each others waists. He kissed the bridge of her nose before nibbling sweetly on her lips. His hand slipped over her flat stomach and Rory suddenly had a memory of lying with him like this before.

At the time they had been happily hidden away in their little apartment snuggled up together with their child safe between them. Rory couldn't help the sharp stab of pain that went through her heart. Jess seemed to sense what she was thinking and pulled her tighter into him. Tucking her head into his shoulder and rubbing his hands down her back.

"It isn't the same is it?" She asked barely above a whisper.

"No" he admitted "But we can have it again"

She pulled back to look at him as he spoke.

"Nothing will ever change what happened or make us miss her any less, but someday hopefully in the not too distant future, we will have the family we dreamed of."

Rory pulled his head down to her and kissed him with all the passion she had in her. When she pulled back she had a huge grin on her face.

"I love that you have become so sappy"

"Huh" Jess said as he rolled them over trapping her beneath him.

"Oh no" she giggled as he nuzzled her with his nose, tickling her neck and making her squirm.

"I spoke to soon. Mr. Monosyllabic has returned."

Jess stopped his torture and smiled at her. "Would that make you Mrs. Monosyllabic?"

Rory smiled back at him. "Yes, that would be me"

Suddenly realizing what she had said, Rory bolted up.

"Oh my God, were getting married today. There is so much I have to do. I need a dress, and oooh shoes. Do you have a suit? Were you even planning on wearing a suit? I need flowers, and Lane, Oh Lane I didn't ask her to be my Maid of Honor I just assumed. What if she can't come with us? Are we saying our own vows? I mean we don't have to say our own vows, we didn't the first time and it was fine. But this is our last wedding should we do more? Did you ask Luke to be your Best M…."

Jess finally cut her off with a kiss, knowing she wouldn't stop otherwise.

"Huh, I'll have to keep that in mind for the future" he said when he realized she was considerably calmer.

"Now before you get yourself all worked up and start making lists."

When she looked at him indignantly, he raised a brow at her daring her to deny it.

"Fine but you can never go wrong with a good list" she pouted

"We can stop at a boutique before we leave for the courthouse, if you feel you have to have a new dress. Yes, I have a suit and plan to wear it. There is a flower shop right next to the courthouse so you can get a bouquet. And I asked Luke to be my best man months ago. As for Lane I think she will be thrilled to be your Maid of Honor and was already planning on being there today. Did I miss anything?" He asked with a smirk

"Our vows, are we saying our own?"

Jess seems to ponder this for a moment "Well considering are combined skills with a pen I think we can come up with something to say"

Rory looked at him, amazed at how easily he could calm her every fear. He knew her so well.

"Do you know how much I love you?" she asked

"I think I can guess" he said teasingly

"But how about you show me just in case."

Before she could protest Jess had her back pressed against the mattress as he devoured her in yet another passionate kiss.

**AN: I decided to let you all hang when it came to Luke and Lorelai. I couldn't quite come up with how I wanted there conversation to go, so I decided to buy myself some time to think about it some more. Any suggestions would be helpful. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, just the story itself.**

**AN: This chapter was so hard to write. I know how I want this story to end but getting it there has been quite the challenge. Thank you all for reviewing. Your comments have helped me more than I can tell you. **

Luke wasn't surprised by the knock on his door.

"I'm not open yet Kirk" he yelled not bothering to even look up from his task.

"It's not Kirk" came a decidedly feminine voice.

No, Luke thought as every muscle in his body tensed. It can't be her, not today. Slowly he looks toward the door, hoping he's wrong it couldn't have been her voice. Damn! Why now, he thinks as he locks eyes with Lorelai Gilmore.

Lorelai heard him yell from inside. Under different circumstances she might have laughed at his assumption. Kirk was a thorn in Luke's side but even he would be more welcomed this morning. She had to force her voice to work.

"It's not Kirk" she watched as he tensed up, a look of dread passing over his features. She wasn't sure if he was going to acknowledge her. And when he finally looked up she almost wished he hadn't.

"Luke can I talk to you please"

A hundred questions raced through his mind all at once. What did she want? Why was she here? But what made him finally nod at her was did she know Jess was back and what was she going to do about it? If he needed to stop her from ruining their wedding day he had to know. Lorelai could see him deliberating. The coldness in his eyes shocked her. When he finally nodded she felt no relief.

Luke walked to the door unlocked it and let her in. He then immediately retreated back behind the counter, putting as much distance between them as possible. He waited for her to begin, having no intention of making small talk with her.

"Well" he prompted when she said nothing

"You wanted to talk"

Lorelai was actually taken a back by the unhidden disgust in Luke's voice. She knew how he felt about what she and her parents had done to return the kids from Texas. But the way he was looking at her one would think she had actually sent Jess to prison. She could feel herself getting angry with his attitude toward her. But she knew if she acted on it, he would end any further conversation.

"I don't know if you're aware, but today is Rory's eighteenth birthday."

Luke just nodded his head motioning for her to continue.

"I need your help Luke. I'm about to lose my daughter. After today she has no reason to let me into her life. Please Luke this has gone on long enough. I know you feel some family loyalty to Jess but Rory can't keep waiting for him."

He was stunned. Did she actually think he would do anything to help her?

"Get out" Luke hissed never raising his voice.

'W..What" she sputtered

"I said get out, I'm not going to help you. How dare you come here!"

He flew from behind the counter opening the door and motioning for her to leave. Lorelai was overtaken by anger and frustration.

"How did I get to be the bad guy in all of this? Your nephew convinces my pregnant daughter to run away with him, which was bad enough but when the worst happened he turned Rory's hospital room into a battle ground. God forbid he give up his male pride, admit that it was over and come home. In the end his ego got bruised so he ran away leaving Rory to deal with the fallout."

Luke was amazed at what she just said

"Wow!! Nice spin. Is that what you tell people? I think you've been spouting that for so long you're starting to actually believe it." Luke looked at her like she was nuts.

"You forget I know what really happened."

Lorelai took a step back from him, almost intimidated by his anger.

"What the hell are you talking about? I did what I had to do to protect my daughter."

"As if that justifies it" he said causing her to cross her arms defensively around her self

"All I wanted was for Rory to come home."

Luke shook his head slamming the door shut in his anger making her jump. "If that's all you wanted then why did you feel the need to run Jess out of town?"

"He left on his own" Lorelai screamed in frustration.

"My god you really are cracked"

Luke started pacing the diner at this point

"Have you completely forgotten your mother threatening to have my loan revoked if he didn't leave?"

Lorelai gasped at his words, But Luke didn't notice he was to caught up in his tirade

"You used me and my livelihood, as a bargaining chip in your campaign to get rid of him. I had to watch as my nephew was forced to leave, one day after burying his child. Do you care that Rory sobbed for hours, literally making herself ill, after he told her he was leaving? He was so afraid to leave her he made me promise 4 different times that I would make sure she was alright. Don't tell me he left on his own. I was there!!!"

Luke stopped pacing and turned to look at her, realizing she was strangely quiet. Her face was deathly pale and she was gripping the chair behind her as if it was all that was keeping her up right. He watched as she struggled to say something but no sound came out. Suddenly as if she was giving up she let herself slip down to the floor.

No, was all she could think. NO, No, No, No, No………it wasn't true, it couldn't be. She racked her brain trying to come up with a reason Luke would lie. When she couldn't find one she felt herself crumble.

"Lorelai" Luke asked

She didn't answer right away, finally he heard her whisper.

"I didn't know"

"What?" Luke asked again.

"I didn't know" she said a little louder, looking up at him pleadingly.

"I swear Luke. Please you have to believe me, I didn't know."

As he looked at the wrecked woman before him he believed that she didn't. Taking a deep breath and releasing it Luke held out his hand to help her up.

"Do you want some coffee" he asked.

Luke placed a large coffee in front of her at the counter and motioned for her to take it.

"I have to finish getting ready to open."

Lorelai got up thinking he wanted her to leave

"Lane and Caesar will be here soon though. If you want, you can wait upstairs. When they get here we can talk."

Relieved and grateful that he only wanted to move their conversation out of prying eyes, Lorelai could have cried

"Thank you" she finally managed as she made her way behind the curtain and up the stairs.

15 minutes later. Luke found her sitting at his kitchen table looking like she had just finished crying. A part of him wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and give her the comfort she obviously needed. But a much larger part wasn't ready to trust her just yet. He wasn't sure how much he should tell her and he didn't want to betray any confidences he had with Jess and Rory. He decided to play it by ear and keep as much to himself as possible until he could be sure she wouldn't use it to hurt them.

"Obviously, a lot has happened in the last year of my daughter's life that I know nothing about."

Luke nodded at her. "I want to tell you but… I can't..."

Lorelai seemed to understand his hesitation. "Okay, how about I ask you some questions and you answer what you can."

Luke seemed to mull this over finally nodding again.

"Does she know where he is?"

"Yes" Luke said

"They've been writing to each other every other day since he left"

Lorelai looked surprised at first but didn't ask anything more about it.

"Is he ok?" Lorelai asked in a small voice.

Luke couldn't help the smile that came to his face at the thought of what his nephew had done with himself.

"It was hard at first but he pulled himself together. I think he felt he needed to prove he could deserve her."

Luke got up and made his way to a book case bringing back a small, hardcover book, handing it to Lorelai

"Did you know that Jess wrote?" he asked not waiting for her to answer "I knew he read a lot, and was always scribbling something in the margins, But did you know he also kept a notebook of stories he had written?"

Lorelai was stunned. Realizing what he was telling her, she looked at the book more closely; sure enough right there on the cover was his name under the title Angel's Wings.

"Wow!" Was all she could manage at first "He wrote a book?"

Luke grinned unable to contain himself "Yep! My punk of a nephew wrote a book"

"How did this happen?" she asked still stunned. "He's still so young"

"Well from what I can understand, when Jess got back to New York, he went to work at a publishing house as an errand boy. After some time there, he got to be friends with the owner and managed to show him his work. The guy was impressed and wanted to publish it. He offered Jess some sort of book deal and this is the result." He said pointing at the book.

Lorelai couldn't help but be amazed. She opened the front cover and flipped to the dedication.

**For Angel, I promised to keep you safe always.**

**I'm sorry.**

**And to my heart you're my reason for everything.**

As she flipped through the book she realized that it was a compilation of short bed time stories.

"I never would have pegged him for children's literature."

Luke nodded and looked at her glassy eyed

"He wrote them for her."

Lorelai couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She felt ashamed for all the things she blamed him for. For the time she took away from them, and the pain she caused both he and Rory.

"When is he coming for her?"

**AN: I know another chapter with out Lit. But I wanted to clear up what happened after Jess left. The next chapter will be mostly Jess and Rory I promise. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: Sorry it took me a while to update.**

**Cemetary**

They spent the better part of an hour at their daughter's grave, Rory sitting beside Jess on the grass, her head resting against his shoulder. They spoke very little; finding it oddly comforting to just be near their little girl, the three of them finally together again. When they got up to leave, Rory stepped toward the small stone, and bent to run her hand lovingly over the name carved in it. _**ANGEL LEIGH MARIANO SEPTEMBER 23, 2002 OUR PRECIOUS DAUGHTER**_

"Bye sweetheart Daddy and I will be back soon."

As she stood, Jess wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling her neck.

"Are you ready?" He whispered

"Do you think somehow she knows were here?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"She knows" He stated with certainty.

Rory closed her eyes and nodded her head, accepting his answer. She turned in his arms to face him, staring into his eyes

. "I love you, you know that?"

He kissed her sweetly and leaned his forehead against hers

"As much as it amazes me, Yeah I do."

He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the car

"I love you to; now let's go get something to eat."

**Luke's Apartment**

"So when is he coming for her?"

Luke stood, grabbed her cup and placed it in the sink behind them. He kept his back to her and said

"I'll get you another cup to take with you"

"Luke" Lorelai tried

"I need to get back downstairs the morning rush is just beginning and Caesar will need my help."

She sighed knowing he wasn't going to answer any more of her questions.

"Alright" she said defeated

"Will you at least talk to her for me? Tell her. …. just tell her I love her?"

Luke nodded he didn't want to give her any false hope. He would talk to Jess and Rory, let them know what he believed, but it was up to them to decide what they wanted to do, if anything. He glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing it was already after seven. Rory and Jess would be there by eight to pick him and Lane up. They had decided to ride to Hartford together; Jess wanted his help with something for Rory. Plus it gave the girls time to shop for the perfect dress. He needed to get ready.

"I'll walk you down." He said as he headed for the door. Lorelai was left with no choice but to follow.

**Outside**

"Well" Rory said as they pulled up in front of Luke's.

"Are you ready to go public?"

Jess smirked "How long do you think it will take before the entire town knows I'm back?"

Rory pretended to mull this over

"Hmmm depends on whether Miss Patty or Babbette are inside. If Kirk has to relay it, were talking at least a 10 minute delay, even then…. a half hour at the most."

Jess rolled his eyes shaking his head. "Geez this town…, I don't know how you stand it."

His tone worried Rory "We don't have to go in yet, Luke's not expecting us for a while, and Lane can't leave till Zach gets here to cover. If you want, I could just go in and you can wait in the car. The town will know soon enough, there is no reason it has to be now."

Rory was babbling, but she didn't want to force him to deal with the town crazies. Jess stopped her, placing his hand on her knee.

"It's ok Ror, I'm sick of hiding, lets just go in, your starving and I happen to know you only had 2 cups of coffee this morning, can't have the bride going through withdrawals." She hugged him and they got out of the car.

As they entered the diner all conversation stopped and they were acutely aware that every eye was on them. Kirk threw money on the counter and rushed passed them, intent on finding Miss Patty, she would pay big for this kind of news.

"Huh" Jess says as he looks around, several people had cell phones to there ears and many others were frantically dialing.

"I'm guessing more like 15 minutes tops"

Rory shook her head and grabbed Jess's hand purposely holding them up so people could see, before heading to the counter where Lane awaited them, coffee already poured.

"Wow" Lane says as she leaned toward them from the other side of the counter.

"You two sure know how to stir things up."

Rory smiled "Were thinking of stopping by Doose's next, I was just telling Jess how much Taylor misses him."

Lane grinned "I'm sure he'll call an emergency town meeting to decide what to do…I can't believe you guys came in, I didn't think you wanted people to know till after…well you know." Lane said looking around to make sure nobody was listening.

They all were

"We decided we don't care what people think. They can't stop us at this point. Let them gossip." Rory answered with conviction

"But what about your mom, aren't you worried what she'll do?"

Just then the curtain to upstairs moved revealing Lorelai, followed closely by Luke. Rory looked up and tensed. Jess immediately wrapped his arm around her pulling her close.

"Well I guess that answers my earlier question" Lorelai mumbled as she gaped at her daughter and Jess.

The diner once again hushed, followed quickly by murmurs and whispered conversation. Everyone knew Lorelai and Rory were at odds, they were certain Jess was the reason, but not a soul knew the real story.

"Luke?" Jess asked his voice laced with anger.

"Wait" Luke stalled him. He knew this had the potential to get ugly and he didn't want to give the town a bigger show then they already had.

"Let's take this upstairs; where we can have some privacy"

Lorelai took a step toward them "I would like to talk to you…both of you."

Jess looked to Rory, he could see she was wary; he let her know with his eyes that it was up to her. Finally after a deep breath she looked toward Lorelai and nodded.

"Let's get this over with. Then we can enjoy our day" She said it loud enough for her mother to hear her, letting her know that she could do nothing to change what they had planned.

Lorelai didn't know what to feel, a part of her was thrilled that she had a chance to explain her side and try to make things right. But the other part of her, recognized the unmasked anger and resentment in her daughter's voice, and was terrified that she was out of chances no matter what she said.

"Thank you" she mumbled as they walked past her and up the stairs.

Lorelai hesitated before following; she looked to Luke for some sort of reassurance. He had none to offer, he raised his arm indicating they should head up stairs. As the curtain dropped behind them, the diner exploded with speculation. The gossip hungry, gleefully exchanging tid bits of everything that had occurred, to whomever they could find to listen.

**The Gilmore Residence**

Emily Gilmore bellowed to her newest maid to get her some coffee. She had been up for over 2 hours now, frantically trying to get in touch with her daughter.

"Damnit Lorelai!" she cursed as she slammed the phone into the receiver for the fifth time that morning.

"Where could she be?" she asked her husband, who sat across the table from her

"Doesn't she know what today is? I have been calling her for the last week. Rory is still refusing my calls. I even tried talking to Rory's roommate Jane, she was absolutely no help"

"Lane" was Richard's only response

"What" she asked

"Rory's roommate, her name is Lane I Believe?"

He said this never bothering to lower the newspaper he was reading

"How can you be so calm?" She demanded as she ripped the newspaper away

"We have to do something, that hoodlum could already be here for all we know." Punctuating her words by slapping the table

"Calm down Emily, I don't like it anymore than you do. But what can we do? She's turning 18 today. Short of turning back time, we can't stop that" he tried to reason.

"Of course we can't stop her from turning 18, I'm not suggesting anything so preposterous. But we can certainly stop her from throwing away her life for that deviant" she snapped at him

"What do you suggest?" he asked sighing.

"Well sitting here obviously isn't solving anything. We need to go to Stars Hollow."

**AN: Short I know but I don't have as much time to work on it. Ever notice that time seems to fly when you're on vacation?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: You guys totally make my day with your reviews. I had a lot of trouble writing Jess at the grave site. I just couldn't imagine him talking freely to a head stone. I rewrote that scene 4 different times and finally just decided to keep the dialogue at a minimum. Very frustrating**

**Luke's Apartment**

When Lorelai walked into the apartment she found Rory on her tiptoes getting down cups from the cabinet, while Jess busied himself making coffee. She stood quietly, watching as they moved about, their ease and familiarity evident. Jess wordlessly helped Rory grab a cup she couldn't reach, placing it with the others on the counter. She could tell Rory was nervous by the way she was biting her lip and twisting her fingers together. Jess seemed to notice this as well and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Whatever he said had the desired effect, because Rory's whole face lit in a genuine smile before rewarding him with a kiss. Luke walked in just then, alerting the couple to their presence. They stiffened immediately and Lorelai was disheartened to see the mask of indifference slip firmly in place when her daughter turned to look at them

"Luke" Jess said stepping close to Rory.

"Mind telling us what's going on here?" His voice was laced with anger and betrayal.

Lorelai quickly jumped to Luke's defense

"I was the one who came to him. I wanted to talk to him about Rory"

Rory's eyes narrowed as she wrapped an arm around Jess's waist

"Looking for suggestions on my birthday present?" she asked a sneer marring her beautiful features.

Lorelai took a deep breath, this was not going to be easy.

"Well he would know more then I would" she said defensively trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

Rory ignored it if anything it only made her angrier.

"And whose fault would that be?...You know what, never mind don't answer that. What do you want mom? Why are you here?"

"I was hoping we could talk, maybe try to fix this." Lorelai pleaded, Rory just scoffed at her

"You don't want to fix anything, your just here looking for a way to stop us. You can't accept that you no longer have any control over my life." Rory yelled

"I never wanted to control your life" Lorelai yelled back.

"Like hell you didn't" Jess roared defending Rory

"STOP!!" Luke yelled, everyone turned to look at him

"This is getting us no where, Jess, Rory…. Lorelai came to see me this morning and she and I talked. There are things that you don't know. If you would all just sit down and shut up. We can try to talk this out"

Luke held his breath waiting for their response. Finally after what seemed like and eternity Jess pulled out a chair for Rory and took the one beside her. Lorelai took a deep breath and sat in the chair farthest from them. Luke grabbed the coffee pot and poured three cups, stalling for time, trying to decide how best to begin.

He set a cup in front of each of them, and poured himself some juice from the fridge. When everyone was served, he sat down and ran his hands over his face.

"Luke" Jess said annoyed with his stalling

He and Rory kept their eyes glued to him refusing to look in Lorelai's direction

"You said there are things we don't know"

Luke nodded and looked at Rory knowing she would be the easier of the two to convince.

"It turns out your mom didn't know about the threats to my business"

He heard Jess's doubtful "Huh" and watched as Rory sat back in her chair, arms crossed, disbelief written all over her face. "Oh really" she said turning to look at Lorelai for the first time

"And were supposed to believe this why?"

"Because it's true" Lorelai said quickly.

"And I suppose you weren't standing right beside her, when Grandma threatened to have Jess arrested, and you had nothing to do with having our marriage annulled?" Rory asked sarcastically

"I'm not denying that" Lorelai began "I did what I thought I had to."

She could see Rory gearing up to say something and continued quickly before she could.

"But I had no idea Emily threatened Luke's diner, I never wanted Jess to leave Stars Hollow"

Rory closed her eyes at this and shook her head

"No….. Just me" she said quietly as Jess grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together.

Rory looked at Jess, squeezing his hand, before turning to her mother.

"Even if I believe you, which I'm not sure I do. But let's say I do, I don't understand how you can justify the rest of it."

Tears had begun to form but she blinked them away

"You expected me to just forget my daughter, my husband, and go back home like nothing had happened. And when I refused, you decided to force me to do what you wanted. And with Grandma's help, which makes you such a hypocrite by the way! Why couldn't you just leave us alone?"

At this point the tears were flowing down Rory's cheeks, she wiped them away angrily. Lorelai wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and comfort her. But Jess was there for that, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into him.

She swallowed back tears of her own

"Can't you at least try to see this from my side? I never expected you to forget about Angel, either of you" she said looking Jess in the eye for the first time.

She could tell he didn't trust her.

"I'm sorry you thought that. I admit I didn't handle everything very well. When Jess wouldn't let us back in to see you, I panicked."

"Jess was only doing what I asked" Rory interrupted

"I see….At the time …I'm sorry… Jess, I thought you were trying to keep her from us. It's why I agreed with my parents to get your marriage annulled…..and the rest."

Jess stared at the table and nodded his head not really acknowledging her apology.

"Rory you were so upset and I thought if I could just get you home, you would calm down and we could talk. I figured things could go back to how they were before. Jess would live at Luke's and you two would finish high school, go to college. I didn't expect you to forget, but I wanted you to see that you could move on."

Rory straightened but didn't completely pull away from Jess, shaking her head and wiping away the tears.

"You wanted us to go back to being kids. But that's what you didn't get. We weren't kids any more. We had lived as husband and wife for months; we had jobs an apartment and we were saving money for the baby. We were happy, and it wasn't just about me being pregnant. Jess and I love each other, and we made a commitment, we weren't just playing house."

Lorelai was blown away by Rory's words. She never actually thought about what their life was like together. Whether they were happy or not wasn't high on her list of concerns. Her only thoughts centered on Rory throwing her dreams away.

"But what about Yale, and becoming a journalist?" she asked "It's what you always said you wanted."

"I would have found a way" Jess said with conviction, staring her in the eyes

"I don't care if I had to work 3 jobs; Rory was going to college and becoming a journalist."

Lorelai believed him, she'd been observing him, noticing all the subtle ways he took care of Rory. She never liked him in the past. To her he was the punk who would eventually hurt her daughter; she never believed he could be more. She was wrong, today she saw it, today she saw the man that Rory loved, the man that wrote bedtime stories to his unborn child, and was fiercely protective of her daughter's dreams. Rory was safe with him.

A tear streaked down Lorelai's cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She looked at Jess his arm wrapped tightly around Rory, who was beaming at him proudly

"I think you would have found a way." She whispered

Jess looked at her shocked.

"I'm sorry;….. I always prided myself on being the cool, understanding mom. We…We were always so close, and I thought you would come to me, no matter what was going on. And I guess when you didn't; I convinced myself it was because of Jess. That he was taking you away from me…. You disappeared for months"

"I called" Rory defended

"Yeah, you left messages on the answering machine saying you were fine, you never said where you were, and you always called when I was at work."

"You're right" Rory conceded

"I just didn't want to fight with you. I knew you would want me to come home, and I couldn't, you hated Jess and would have blamed him for destroying the life you wanted for me. The whole town would have resented him and pitied me. That's not what we wanted for our child."

Lorelai took a deep breath she couldn't deny what Rory said was true

"Wow! All these years of rebelling, and in the end, I still turned into my mother."

**AN: Okay that felt like a good place to stop for now. I hope I showed both sides. I always felt that Lorelai never really gave Jess a chance. I think he always scared her and I hated how unreasonable she could be about him. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. **

**Luke's Apartment**

"Wow! All these years of rebelling, and in the end, I still turned into my mother."

The room got very quiet. Nobody was quite sure what to say next. For Rory, the past two years had been hell. She hated not being able to talk to her mom, she missed their easy banter. So many times she wanted to call her, tell her about something that happened or ask her advice. It was breaking her heart that today was her wedding day and her mother was not invited. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to tell Lorelai that it was ok, everything could be forgiven and they could pretend nothing happened.

She turned to Jess, looked into his beautiful chocolate eyes and knew he would go along with whatever she wanted. And that simple fact was why she couldn't do it. She couldn't pretend that everything that they endured, all the pain and lost time, meant nothing. She believed Lorelai, when she said she was sorry. And maybe with time, they could rebuild some of what they had. But she refused to let it be easy.

"I'm not sure where we go from here." Rory finally admitted

Lorelai looked at her warily

"I mean, I don't know if this changes anything. Can you accept Jess as part of my life; can you stand on the sidelines and let me decide what I want?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and nodded "I don't think I have a choice"

"No you don't" Rory said a little annoyed with her mothers choice of words.

"I meant" Lorelai began trying to appease "I want my daughter back and I 'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

Rory sat up and grabbed Jess's hand in her own. She looked at him briefly trying to decide if she was about to make a huge mistake. Taking the risk she turned to Lorelai

"Even if it means happily attending our wedding, today?"

She squeezed Jess's hand when she felt him stiffen beside her; she knew she was taking a big chance telling Lorelai about their plans. She couldn't actually stop them, but one phone call to her Grandmother and their day could easily turn ugly. Or depending upon what Emily cooked up, postponed. And even if her answer was yes, it didn't magically fix anything. But it would give Rory, a reason to believe her.

"Today" Lorelai asked dismayed

"Yep" Rory said cheerfully "In about 5 hours"

Lorelai sat stunned she knew this was a test, Rory was giving her a chance to prove herself and she also knew she wouldn't get another one. But was she ready to cheerfully hand over her daughter to the boy she called punk, because it was nicer than what she actually thought of him. She knew in reality she had no say in the matter. This was going to happen, with her there or not. But if she was going to get her daughter back she had to believe in her choices and that meant believing in Jess. She really wanted to believe all that she saw in him today.

"I'd like to speak to you alone if I could" she said locking eyes with Jess

"What?" Rory yelled, quickly standing up "What ever you ha…" Rory began

"Fine" Jess said cutting her off

"But Jess" Rory tried

"Your mom and I need to settle a few things. It will be alright." He tried to reassure her

Rory looked at him still unsure, he was leaned back in his chair and had his arms crossed over his chest. He looked determined

"You don't have to do this… I shouldn't have asked her.."

Jess pulled her back to him, kissed her cheek and whispered "I'll be fine"

She still wasn't comfortable but she knew she had no choice. She looked at Luke, who had been very quiet throughout their discussion, acting as referee only when they needed it.

"I guess we could see if Lane is ready to go, maybe grab our food, but we need to leave soon so…"

"We won't be too long I promise." Lorelai said,

Rory didn't respond, she just looked back at Jess one more time before leaving.

**Gilmore Limo (Somewhere in Stars Hollow)**

Emily is on her cell phone snapping at Sookie on the other end.

"What kind of business are you running that you don't know where she is? Did she call and say she would be late?"

"No like I already told you she hasn't called in yet. I'm sure she will be in soon, it's only a little after 9." replied Sookie obviously agitated

"This is ridiculous, she's not at home and she's not answering her cell phone, she is a business woman how can she be completely out of reach."

"As soon as I hear from her, I will let her know to call you." Said Sookie trying to get off the phone

"Fine… Thank you Sookie" Emily said with fake politeness

Emily snapped her phone closed and looked at her husband. "I don't know where else to look."

"I'm sure Lorelai is fine, she is probably dealing with a business matter. We should go home and wait for her to call" Said Richard persuasively

Emily just glared at him and continued to debate with herself what to do next.

"Luke's" she said triumphantly

"Luke's?" Richard repeated with less enthusiasm.

"Yes, Rory still talks to him. And I'm sure he knows where that deviant nephew of his is."

Richard didn't like where this was going. "Why on earth would he tell us even if he did?"

Emily looked at him with what could only be described as a wicked grin "Who says we'll give him a choice. And if he doesn't someone there will know; this little town is full of gossips."

**Luke's Diner **

Rory pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the diner. Everyone turned to look at them.

"Nothing to see here, eat or get out" Luke commanded from behind her.

Rory watched as a dozen heads turned back toward their meals.

"Thanks Luke" she said quietly, turning to stare back toward the curtain.

"Don't worry, Jess has never been violent, I doubt there will be blood shed." Luke said trying to break some of the tension

"I wasn't worried about Jess; I would like my groom to be in one piece, thank you very much." Rory pouted.

Lane came over to them carrying a cup of coffee for Rory." Do I want to know why your back down here and Jess is still up there with your mom?"

Rory once again looked back at the curtain "I told mom about the wedding and she asked to speak to Jess alone."

Lane looked shocked "You told your mom about the wedding?"

Rory hugged herself defensively "She wanted me to believe she was sorry and she said something about doing anything to get me back… So.. I…decided to make her prove it."

Lane nodded her head impressed "Wow, So….Jess…talking to your Mom….can Jess do that?"

Rory has a sudden flash of Jess saying "The verbal thing comes and goes"

Rory suddenly looked pale "What was I thinking? I can't leave him up there with her. Nothing good can come of it. She's never given him a chance. I shouldn't have believed her; Man! She is probably up there right now trying to scare him off. And as much as I love my husband, He does not do well with….well...people. He's going to get angry and…let me tell you silent, broody Jess is bad enough, but when he gets going…Just ask Luke…He can.."

"Rory!" Lane yelled interrupting her tirade

"Breath" Lane commanded her

"But…" Rory stuttered pointing toward the curtain

"Come over here, sit down, I'll get you a fresh cup of coffee."

Rory reluctantly followed her.

"Okay..So.. I think maybe this could be a good thing." Lane says hesitantly

"How could my mom and Jess killing each other be construed as a good thing?" Rory asks skeptically

"Well if you ever want a relationship with your mom again, those two need to find a way to get along. Let them have it out. Don't you think so Luke?" Lane asked as Luke slid Rory's breakfast to her across the counter.

"Well, what's the worst that can happen; they end up having one more reason to hate each other." Luke shrugged

"Yeah, I guess… I'm not even sure I want a relationship with Mom again. I'm not sure I can forgive her for everything, at least not right away."

**Gilmore Limo**

"I'll never understand why Lorelai and Rory were so drawn to this place." Emily said grimacing, as the car pulled up out front of the diner.

"It's quaint" Richard stated

"How is sitting at sticky tables, eating greasy food, while surrounded by building supplies considered quaint?" She snapped

Richard didn't bother to answer her

"The things we do, to save these girls from themselves." She complains as she climbs out of the limo and heads for the diner.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story.**

**Luke's apartment**

Lorelai waited till she was sure that Rory and Luke were downstairs, before turning back toward Jess. He hadn't changed his position, leaned back in the chair, arms crossed, he looked guarded. She hesitated, waiting for a sarcastic comment he was so known for in the past, none came. Instead he looked her straight in the eye as he spoke.

"If you're going to tell me I'm not good enough for her. I already know. But I won't leave again. We are getting married today." He said it in an even tone, no sarcasm present

Lorelai just nodded her head and began to wander the apartment

"Luke showed me your book." She said as she picked it up from the coffee table "He's very proud,….you did good."

Jess snorted "That must have been painful for you to admit" He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his features.

"Mocking other peoples pain, and here I thought you were the new and improved Jess" Lorelai said with a smirk of her own.

"Nope, same old me. Guess they'll have to up my meds"And there's the sarcasm she had been waiting for earlier. She knew from past experience that he could match her quip for quip, much like Rory he had a quick mind and was a master of words. But unlike Rory, he laced his retorts with sarcasm and his dry wit, something her sweet daughter just wasn't capable of. It was his defense mechanism born from years of hiding hurt. One she recognized in herself, and also as the main reason the two of them weren't able to get along. They were alike.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly

Jess wasn't expecting that. He didn't know how to reply. He just looked at her warily, a very large part of him wanted to say "Huh" knowing it would annoy her. He could deal with an annoyed Lorelai. She would snap at him and he would take pleasure in finding the perfect come back. But he couldn't do that now; he promised himself he would try for Rory. She refused to admit it, but he knew how much she missed her mom. So instead he opted to stay quiet and just let her know he was listening.

"I'm sorry that you were forced to leave Stars Hollow and I'm sorry that my mother threatened Luke's" she said acting contrite

"Huh" Jess couldn't help it this time. He was annoyed; he really thought she was going to take responsibility for some of what happened. He knew he wasn't innocent in all this. He definitely didn't make it easy on her to trust him. But the two offenses she decides to apologize for, aren't even her own. She was shifting all the blame on her parents. Jess just shook his head in disgust.

"What" she asked annoyed with his response.

"You know your right; alls forgiven, your mother is the reason for everything that happened. She's why you could never give me a chance. And why Rory and I felt the need to run from here." Jess knew he was pushing her. But he also knew if they were ever going to get anywhere they needed to get really honest with each other.

"So are we done here? I need to get down there. Rory's waiting for me." Jess said as he got up to go, seeing if she would stop him.

"Wait" Lorelai called, halting him before he could make it around the table. She knew she chickened out and he was calling her on it.

"You're right I didn't give you a real chance. I didn't trust you, I was afraid you would break her heart and run." She admitted

"You must have felt vindicated when you believed I had." Jess asked bitingly, wincing when he heard his own words." I'm sorry" He said holding his hands up in surrender" That's not getting us anywhere."

Lorelai was surprised by his apology but nodded her head accepting it; they brought it out in each other.

"You scared me." She said simply

"Why because I wasn't Dean" Jess's hatred for the other boy obvious

"Yeah in a way… Dean was safe; I never worried about him hurting her. He never could have really." She explained

"And I could. I love Rory; I would never intentionally hurt her." He said

"Not intentionally, no. But she never loved Dean. She cared about him, yes. But he never had her heart." She said stepping toward him

"So let me get this straight, you didn't want her with me because she loves me. How does that make sense?" Jess questioned annoyed at her logic

"C'mon Jess, you weren't what most parents would refer to as the dream boyfriend for their daughter. You move to this town with your bite my ass attitude. You purposely did everything possible to piss off as many people as you could. And the few times I tried to be nice to you, you threw it back in my face. Can you blame me for being hesitant?" Lorelai said her voice going up in volume the more she spoke

"No" Jess said purposely keeping his voice level "I'm sorry I was such an ass in the beginning. I was so mad at everything. The town, my mom, Luke, I took it out on anyone and everyone."

"Except Rory" Lorelai stated

"Yeah except Rory. She was different; she made me want to be better. She still does." Jess said quietly looking down at the floor.

Lorelai was impressed she never thought she would hear Jess admit anything so personal. She knew how much this must be killing him to open up to her, it just proved how much he really loved her daughter.

"I did try to get along with you, after Rory and I started dating." Jess began "But you seemed to already have your mind set against me, and there wasn't anything I could say or do to change it." Looking at her for an explanation

"I know." Lorelai said a hint of regret in her voice.

"It's funny. I always thought when the time came, I would be able to sit back and let Rory decide what was best for her. And up until you came along, I thought I did a pretty good job. But for whatever reason I didn't trust her judgment when it came to you. I forgot how self reliant and level headed she is. I focused on her inexperience with men, believing I had to save her from the pain, I was sure you would cause." She looked back at him, hoping he could understand.

"When Rory and I ran away, and you found out she was pregnant, you must have thought you were right all along?" He didn't ask it sarcastically. He knew how much it must have hurt her at the time. He was beginning to regret that now.

"Yes" she agreed "I blamed you for getting her in trouble, and for her not coming to me for help. It never dawned on me that I made it impossible for her to do so. I'm sorry for that."

Jess nodded his head accepting her apology "I think we both made this worse than it needed to be."

Lorelai took a deep breath relieved "Can I ask what your plans are? I know you have your book deal. Are you and Rory going to move to New York?"

"Maybe eventually, But I meant what I said, Rory is going to finish college and become a reporter. I can work from anywhere, for now we want to stay near Yale." Jess explained a ghost of a smile on his face

Lorelai could have cried. She was so relieved. She was so afraid once they got married they would want to move as far away as they could and she wouldn't get a chance to be a part of their lives.

"Thank you" she whispered. "I think we need to go now, your bride is waiting"

**AN: I know that was a little long for them to be talking considering I had Emily and Richard about to walk in the diner in the last chapter. I'm not sure how to fix that right now. But I felt Jess and Lorelai needed to have it out. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story.**

**Luke's diner**

Luke's jaw clenched when he caught the site of a Limo pulling up in front of his diner. He knew that there was only one reason that it would be in Stars Hollow. The Gilmores.

"Rory, you need to go upstairs right now. Hurry" Luke said to the wide eyed girl in front of him

"Luke what's going on?" Rory asked worriedly. He was scaring her a little; she had never seen him look so livid.

"Your grandparents just pulled up" He said angrily "Go get upstairs and warn Jess and Lorelai." Motioning for her to move

"Go" he demanded loudly when she hesitated

Rory jumped off her stool and ran to the curtain separating the diner from upstairs. Just as she was about to go through something stopped her, looking out toward the street she could see her grandparents getting out of their car. Did she want to hide from them? She asked herself. Was if fair to leave Luke to deal with them? She glanced at Luke and could almost see the anger radiating off of him, he had already done so much for them. Her grandparents would only find a way to punish him for standing up for her. NO! She would not allow that. She needed to face her grandparents and let them know they couldn't control her life any longer. Taking a deep breath she marched back toward the counter.

"Let me handle this Luke."

"Rory, no just let me get rid of them." He said as he came around the counter.

"I have to do this Luke it's not fair to make you deal with them."

He could see she was determined and even admired her courage sighing he agreed. "I'm going up and letting Lorelai and Jess know what's going on. I won't be long."

"Tell them to stay hidden for now. I'm going to try to make them to leave" She said as she ran out the diner door, halting the Gilmores in the middle of the street.

"Ah Rory, just the person we were looking for." Emily says in her fake sugary voice

"Grandma, Grandpa" she says keeping her voice monotone "Why are you here?"

"We came to see you on your birthday" Richard chimes in trying to alleviate some of the tension

"I already have plans for today. I'm spending it with my friends." Rory says as she nods her head toward Luke's

"Surely you can find some time to spend with your family?" Emily asks as her eyes narrowed in annoyance

Rory just ignores her attempt at guilting her, she doesn't really think of her grandparents as family any longer. The naïve girl that once got upset, whenever she thought of disappointing them is gone. She now knows why her mother tried to shield her from them, and wishes that her efforts were more successful. The only family she needs is in the diner behind her. And she wants nothing more than to get back to them.

"I'm sorry you drove all this way for nothing. Maybe you can stop at Kim's antiques and it won't be a total loss. If you'll excuse me I need to get back to my friends." Rory turns around to head back into the diner effectively dismissing them.

"You get more like your mother everyday." Emily says as she glares at her. She turns to her husband. "I told you we should have fought Lorelai for custody of her, our daughter was too juvenile to raise an infant. We wouldn't have made that mistake again."

Rory is speechless. She stares at her grandmother in shock. How did she ever fool herself into believing this woman had a heart? She just cavalierly announced her intention to kidnap her child.

"How dare you!! You know nothing about me or my mom. Was that what you thought was going to happen if my daughter had survived? You thought you would use your influence with the courts to steal her from me and Jess?" Rory was yelling now drawing curious looks and shock from the people inside.

"Now Rory." Her grandfather began embarrassed by the scene she was creating "There is no need to shout, your grandmother didn't mean that the way it sounded."

"And how did she mean it then?" Rory asked refusing to lower her voice.

"We would have helped you. Don't you see? With you and your child living with us she would have been raised correctly. The way you should have been all along." Richard said pleading with her to understand

"Thankfully it didn't have to come to that. Unlike your mother, you were given another chance to start over and live your life properly without that stigma attached to it." Emily said with obvious disdain for her daughter. It seemed as if every patron in the diner was now standing at the windows straining to catch every word.

"How could you …..Jess and I …"Rory felt as if she'd been sucker punched, she wanted to scream at her grandmother, tell her how much she hated her, call her an evil bitch. But her mind was having trouble wrapping itself around what her grandmother just said. It was better that her baby died? Before she could try again, Emily's screeching interrupted her.

"Jess…That boy was no good for you. He is just another example of your mother's bad influence and parenting. She should have never allowed that miscreant within a mile of you. Thankfully he has been dealt with. Now you will come back with us, and we can discuss how to keep him from coming back. We can't have that boy ruining all the work you've done this past year." Emily sounded if she was speaking to a willful child.

Rory was shaking now. Tears she refused to shed were ready to spill. She could feel the rage building inside her. Never in her life had she wanted to hit someone. But in that moment, she could feel her fist tightening at her side, and the urge to see her grandmother sprawled on the sidewalk was almost overwhelming. She straightened her spine, and looked at Emily making sure to stare directly into her eyes.

"LEAVE NOW! I'm not going anywhere with you. If I want to run off and become a porn star, you will have no say in it. This is my life and I decide who and what I want to be apart of it. And that no longer includes you."

"Now Rory you're obviously hysterical. You don't know what you're saying." Richard tried

Just then the door to the diner opened and someone stepped out. "I believe you heard what she said. I suggest you listen." Rory turned to see Lorelai with Luke not far behind her. She looked beyond the two expecting to see Jess and turned questioningly to them when she didn't see him. A slight tilt of Luke's head let her know he was still inside.

"Hey sweets, why don't you head in? Lane is waiting for you, with your breakfast." Lorelai said smiling at her reassuringly

Rory just nodded her head and scooted past Luke inside, never looking back. Lorelai turned back to face her parents as soon as the door had closed again.

"I believe it's time for you to go." She said evenly

"Don't tell me Lorelai. Once again you've decided being your child's friend is more important than what's best for her." Emily asked condescendingly

"No mother, I've decided that my grown daughter's happiness is more important than my own stupid pride. You should try it.

She's eighteen mom, if we don't want to lose her we have to let her live her own life."

Emily pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest in disgust. "Lorelai, stop being so overly dramatic. This has nothing to do with pride. This is about Rory, she may be eighteen but she's still a child. She doesn't know what's best. We have to do whatever we can to make sure she stays on the right path, even if it means forcing her to make a choice."

"What kind of choice?" Luke growled

"Not that this concerns you but, if Rory would like to continue with her education at the level she is at now, than she will need to avoid things that are unhealthy for her." Richard explained

"I'm assuming you mean my nephew and anyone else you don't deem worthy. Rory doesn't need your money I'll help pay for Yale if that is what you're threatening."" Luke said hotly

Richard shook his head exasperated. "Why are you here? You know nothing about this; in fact it was your attempts at parenting that allowed my granddaughter to end up pregnant in the first place. You should have never allowed that boy to come live with you. You obviously had no idea what you were doing."

"It amazes me how superior you think you are, when your own daughter, decided living in a shed at the age of sixteen with a one year old, was better than being in the same town as the two of you." Luke yelled back

Emily just glared at him refusing to acknowledge that he even spoke, instead she turned to Lorelai

"This is not just about the money. Your Father as you know is on the board of advisors at Yale, and has many influential friends at most of the elite colleges in the country. He has already explained the situation to a few members of the board, and they agree that she might need some time off to deal with her emotional problems. If she tries to transfer elsewhere it wouldn't take more than a few phone calls to ensure her undesirability."

Lorelai gasped shocked at the lengths they would go, to control Rory.

"Talk to her Lorelai, I'm sure you can make her see reason. We don't want to have to do this." Richard said as he grasped Emily's arm and propelled her forward. "Come along Dear. I don't believe there is anything more to say."

"She is going to hate you and I don't blame her. I won't help you." Lorelai screamed after them.

**Inside the diner**

Rory had rushed into the diner ignoring all the questioning stares from the patrons, she found Jess standing behind the counter, A look of pure rage across his handsome face. When he saw her he opened his arms and she ran into them.

"I hate them" She whispered

"I know" Jess whispered back "I wanted to go out there, but your mom insisted I stay back. She thinks it's better if they don't know I'm here yet. Luke agreed."

"Their never going to let us be happy." She cried

"Your mom swears she is going to make this right, I think she means it."

"I want to believe her." She said as she pulled back to look at him tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"I do too." He said kissing her before pulling her tightly to him once again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**Luke's Diner**

To say the patrons of Luke's diner were shocked would be and understatement. Even the town's biggest gossips were at a loss for what to do. They watched as it all unfolded around them. Everyone was of course curious, all dying to know the whole story. But after witnessing the fight outside and hearing the horrible threats from the elder Gilmore's, no one wanted to chance causing more pain. So they just looked on enthralled. Jess stood anxiously still, while Rory was outside. They could see the anger radiating off of him and it was obvious that it was taking everything in him to stay where he was, while Luke and Lorelai went out. His eyes were locked on her tiny figure, his hands gripping the counter in front of him. The more upset Rory became the more anguish Jess appeared to be in. Just as he seemed ready bolt out after her, Rory came through the diner door. The patrons stood in wonder as he opened his arms to her and she flew into them. It was astonishing to see, the boy who showed such ambivalence to the rest of the world, could be so effected by her pain and distress. So caught up in the young couple before them they almost didn't notice when Lorelai and Luke reentered the diner.

"Hey" said Lorelai as she walked up to them.

Jess loosened his hold on Rory so she could turn to face her mother, but didn't completely let her out of his embrace.

"Are you alright Hun" she asked

Rory didn't answer her, she could tell by the looks being passed between Luke and Lorelai, that something more had happened, something bad. She braced herself for whatever it was.

"What are they threatening now?" she asked her voice sounding hard and detached

Lorelai looked around the diner realizing the audience they had drawn. There was no way they could discuss this here, they needed to be able to talk through there options without worrying about who was listening. They could try going back up to the diner apartment but they would have to worry about keeping there voices down. And she wouldn't completely rule out somebody sneaking up to listen at the door.

"How about we take this back to the house?" seeing Rory's hesitation, Lorelai quickly added. "You can bring Lane with you and leave from there…...Plus, I have a few ideas, and we might need some things I have stashed there." Lorelai said the last almost mischievously

Rory looked to Jess and Luke, seeing they didn't mind she finally nodded, curious about what her mom was up to.

"Alright but you will explain as soon as we get there."

**Crapshack**

Rory sat on the couch with Jess beside her, holding her hand. Lorelai was on the other end and Lane and Luke had taken up residence in the remaining chairs. They had just spent the last hour discussing all that transpired outside the diner and of course the Gilmore's latest threat. Rory felt ill, she knew that her grandparents would refuse to pay for Yale once they found out about her marriage. In fact she and Jess planned for just that, they had been saving to pay for her tuition themselves. But they never considered she would be forced to give up her college dreams. She stupidly never imagined her grandparents capable of such cruelty. Jess took a deep breath and shifted beside her, when she looked at him she could tell what he was thinking.

"No" she told him before he could even open his mouth.

"But Ror, it wouldn't be right. You have to go to college. Maybe if we just pretend to go along for now…." his tone pleading

"And what lose another 3 years while I finish college. Then what?... They'll just come up with another threat to keep you away. I won't live my life like this. We've already lost too much time, it hurts too much. I refuse to ever do that again." Rory was yelling now

"But" Jess tried once more not willing to let her give up on her dreams even for him.

"No!!" Rory shouted before getting up, and going into the kitchen.

Jess looked at Lorelai "The only thing holding me back from killing your parents, is I'd have to leave Rory behind when I went to prison." That said he got up to find Rory

"Hey" he said quietly when he found her sitting on the bed, in her old room. Her head was down but she looked up when she heard him enter.

"Hey" she replied as she wiped away a few stray tears.

"You know I don't want to be away from you again. It killed me not to see you everyday." Jess said as he sat beside her

"I know" she replied as she laid her head against his shoulder. He immediately wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I just hate the thought of you giving up anything to be with me. I promised myself you wouldn't have to do that again. You need to go to Yale to become a journalist" He turned his head away disgusted that he couldn't give her everything he felt she deserved.

Rory shook her head and grabbed his face forcing him to look at her.

"Don't you know by now, that the only thing in my life that I truly need, is you."

"Rory" he tried

"No listen to me. I can still become a journalist without Yale or an Ivy League college. It will be harder but not impossible. But without you there to cheer me on, and come home to, none of it will mean anything." When he still looked doubtful she kissed him saying. "Besides, I have a feeling this isn't the end of it. Mom looks like she has something planned."

She got up to go back out when he stopped her by grabbing her wrist

"Promise me you won't regret this later and end up resenting me." The look on his face was almost fearful

"The only thing I will ever regret is the time we lost. As for resenting someone, my grandparents will hold that honor alone."

She smiled at him reassuringly and gave him what was meant to be a quick peck, but Jess held her to him, pulling her onto his lap and deepening the kiss. He wanted her feel how much he needed and loved her with him. Rory soon got caught up in the pleasure he was providing, moaning she began to pull off his shirt, pushing him back against the bed. Jess ran his hands up her sides pulling her top off wanting to feel her bare skin against his own. He let out a moan of his own and squeezed her ass, before allowing his hands to slide up, unclasping her bra.

"UUHHUUMMM" someone said loudly interrupting them

The two finally pulled away from each other and dazedly looked up to see Lorelai standing in the doorway, her hands covering her eyes.

"Sorry to interrupt" she said clearly embarrassed "But I thought you might want to hear what I have in mind….. I'll just give you a moment to ahhh…ummm I'll just see you out there." Quickly turning to leave she began mumbling. Jess and Rory could just make out something about needing therapy and going blind before they heard her clearly shout "You could have at least closed the door"

Rory's face turned bright red and Jess couldn't seem to stop laughing. She smacked his arm letting him know she didn't think it was that funny.

"I can not believe that just happened." She said mortified

"It's not my fault you can't resist me." Jess replied cheekily while leaning in to kiss her neck

"Stop that" she squealed, pushing him away and smacking his arm again "We have to go out and face her now."

She got up, furiously redressing, and walked to the doorway obviously dreading going out. Jess followed her putting back on his own t-shirt and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"C'mon Ror it's not as if, it's that big of a shock to her. She knows we didn't wait till the wedding night." he whispered in her ear

'I know." She conceded "But there's a big difference between knowing something and having a front row seat."

Rory blushed again and turned in his arms hiding her face in his chest. Suddenly out of nowhere she started to laugh, her whole body shaking with it.

"Did you see her face?... I think we truly scarred her." She gasped out, Jess soon joined her.

"Well" she said wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath she was still giving in to a few stray giggles here and there.

"Are you ready to go out there and face everyone?"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm sorry for the lack of an update. But I seem to have hit a bit of a wall lately. And although I know how I want this to end, it refuses to write it self. **

Jess and Rory made there way back to living room, and took there former seats on the couch. Jess was doing his best to ignore the pointed looks flying between Lane and Lorelai. Rory's mother clearly over the shock, was now enjoying the couple's discomfort. Jess refused to show any embarrassment but he didn't think Rory could get any redder.

"So if Joanie and Chachi are done groping each other……." Lorelai began

"Hey" Rory yelled as she crossed her arms and slumped into the couch "Can't we at least be Sandy and Danny" she pouted.

Lane giggled at her, loving how red Rory's cheeks were, she couldn't stop her self from making it worse.

"Yeah you would think after last night, you two could show some restraint." she piped in

"Lane!" Rory screeched

"What would you know about it?" Jess asked getting annoyed

"Let's just say the walls of our apartment are pretty thin and you two are loud. I didn't get any sleep at all last night."

Rory wanted to crawl under the couch cushions but opted instead to throw a pillow at the cheeky Korean.

"Wow Jess; all night I'm impressed. Who would have thought you had it in ya." Lorelai teased, Jess's anger only goading her on.

"MOM!" Rory scolded

"It's a Dane's family trait." Jess quipped not missing a beat." Why don't you find out for yourself?" nodding his head toward his Uncle, clearly pleased with the blush he got from both elders. "You know you've always been curious."

Lorelai, not wanting to get beat at her own game, pretended to look Luke up and down and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Luke roared as he stood "I'm going to make some coffee" cracking Jess in the back of the head as he left the room.

"Geez" He winced

The girls couldn't help but laugh as Jess rubbed the back of his head and glared at his Uncle's retreating form.

"Mom are you going to tell us your plan?" Rory asked hoping to change the topic

"Why don't we wait till Luke comes back? In the mean time, you can tell me about your first wedding."

Rory was startled by her mother's request. Her wedding day was beautiful, joyful, romantic and at the same time one of the hardest days of her life. She knew that day by marrying Jess she was leaving her mother behind. Even so, a large part of her spent the day wishing for her mother, and longing to tell her about every second. Back then Lorelai wouldn't have shared in her happiness but maybe she could now.

"You really want to know?" Rory asked still not quite believing

"Yeah" Lorelai said quietly "It's something I've always wondered about"

Rory leaned into Jess and whispered in his ear. Jess nodded and pulled out his wallet, producing a picture and handing it to her mother. Lorelai stared at it for a long time, in it Rory and Jess stood on the steps of a church, a couple she'd never seen before stood behind them grinning and holding onto one another. Rory looked breathtaking she was wearing a simple white sundress and had flowers laced through her upswept hair, her arms laced around Jess's neck as his wrapped around her waist holding her close. They looked like there were caught a moment before they could kiss. They looked happy. Lorelai had tears in her eyes as she handed the picture to Lane so she could also see it.

"You got married in a church?" Lorelai said quietly

"Yeah, it was a small little chapel" Rory responded "We actually went to the courthouse that morning intending on getting married by the JP."

"How did you end up in the chapel then?" Lane asked

"We met another couple while we were waiting for our license." She nodded toward the picture "That's them behind us."

"Rob and Becky, they were getting their license as well and we all started talking."

"You mean you were talking and Jess would occasionally grunt" Lorelai couldn't help but tease

Rory just gave her a look as Jess mumbled a "Whatever" under his breath

"Any ways, they mentioned her Uncle was a minister and had agreed to marry them, and she was sure he wouldn't mind performing a second ceremony for us as well. So we ended up being each others witnesses." Rory laid her head on Jess's shoulder and intertwined there hands. Her voice took on a much more lilting tone; a dreamy smile adorned her face.

"Jess bought me a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers, and surprised me with matching wedding bands." She pulled a chain out she had tucked under her shirt lifting it over her head and showing it to Lorelai and Lane a gold band attached to the end.

"He had them engraved." She smiled at him proudly, Jess shook his head and buried his face in her hair, obviously embarrassed

"What does it say?" Lane asked in whispered awe

"Hearts Entwined" Rory told them as she kissed Jess sweetly

"Awwwwwww" Lorelai cooed "Who knew James Dean could be so gushy"

Jess was saved from having to defend his coolness by Luke returning with the women's coffee.

"So what's this big plan, and what makes you think your mother isn't going to just find something else to threaten us with? Jess grumbled jumping at the chance to end the current discussion.

Lorelai got what only could be described as an evil grin on her face.

"Trust me you don't live in that house for 16 years without learning a few things." She leaned forward making sure she had everyone's attention. "Were going to beat her at her own game."

Rory was intrigued by her mothers words.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked

Lorelai took a deep breath she knew the next words out of her mouth were not going to be taken well. In fact they could very well mean, Rory and Jess walking out of her house and not looking back. But if they were going to stop the Gilmore's for good, they would have no choice.

"I need you to post pone your wedding."

The young couple were immediately out of their seats

"What" Rory yelled

"No way in Hell" Jess chimed in with a roar.

"Is this your way of trying to stop us? What Grandma's threat didn't work, so now it's your turn to step in and stop us?

Did you have this planned all along, butter us up, make us believe your on our side and then what…. ?" Rory asked accusingly

"I know you don't trust me. But you have to listen to me. I am not working with your Grandmother. I promise you I'm not trying to stop you from getting married I'd never do that again.……… I don't want to lose you." Her voice trailing off to a whisper in the end

Rory seemed to hesitate when she heard the sincerity in her mother's voice. She looked at Jess to decide what to do. She could see he was just as uncertain as she was. Finally he shrugged his shoulders letting her know it was still up to her.

"Listen" Lorelai jumped in sensing her opening. "I'm only asking for two days. I promise you will be married. But I need you to hear me out" she pleaded

Rory grabbed Jess's hand and sat back down on the couch pulling him with her.

"Fine two days, but if anything happens Jess and I are gone."

"Fair enough…" Lorelai conceded

"Ok first thing Jess, I'm guessing you have an agent or someone who can put out a press release?"

"Yeah" Jess said slowly

"Perfect!" Lorelai said as she clapped her hands excitedly "Now we need flowers, Sookie of course will make the food, A dress, I still have the one I bought when I was going to marry Max, it would only take a few alterations, what do you think the Gazebo or the Inn?" Lorelai didn't wait for an answer she just continued to ramble on and on about tables and ministers, leaving the four remaining people to stare at her in confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jess finally interrupted her

"Your big impromptu wedding that all of Stars Hollow, plus quite a few socialites will be attending."

"What?" Rory asked clearly stunned

"Oh and did I mention your Grandparents will be there to give there blessing?"

**AN: PHEW!! That took forever and I'm sick of rewriting it. Next chapter I'll go in more depth with Lorelai's plan. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

"You're cracked!" Jess accused sure he had to have heard wrong

'Ummm Sorry Mom but I'm going to have to go with Jess on this one. I think you've really lost it this time." Rory said shaking her head "There is no way Grandma and Grandpa will ever bless our marriage."

Lorelai smiled at them, she was actually going to enjoy this. One would think, a daughter would feel a pang of guilt for what she was about to suggest they do to her parents, But Lorelai just couldn't find it in her.

"Ahhh but they will!" Lorelai almost giggled "They're not the only ones who know how to black mail" 

"Huh" Jess said still unsure of his mother-in-law's mental health

"Okay listen, my parents are using their connections and social standing to threaten Rory and control her and in their circle it is completely acceptable what their doing. In fact they would probably be praised for protecting her and their wealth. However, if it were to become public knowledge that they've threatened her, those same people would act shocked and appalled and deny any involvement or support. And my parents would lose some of their social standing."

As Lorelai explained she looked around the group to make sure they understood. She wasn't surprised by the twin looks of disgust she found on either of the Dane's men's faces or Lane's quiet acceptance. Rory, having already been exposed to her grandparent's world, just nodded her head agreeing with Lorelai's depiction of it.

"So you're suggesting we threaten to expose them." Luke asked

"It's not that simple" Rory jumped in before Lorelai could answer "We have no proof to back us up, and with their social status without proof who would believe us." "Right?" she asked looking to her mother for confirmation

Lorelai nodded pleased that Rory seemed to be catching on. "Yes, my parents already covered their bases when they hinted that you were having emotional problems, and might need some time off from your studies. If we accuse them without proof we would just be playing into their hands. You would look like a troubled girl who doesn't want to get help."

"That's disgusting how can they live with themselves?" Lane asked shaking her head

"Quite easily actually, they've already convinced themselves that this is for her own good. They believe they're saving her." Lorelai explained sadly

Jess raked his hands through his hair frustrated. "So we get proof."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Exactly" she looked around "I think the easiest way is to get them on tape admitting it." When everyone nodded she continued "It shouldn't be hard. I could probably do it myself, but it might be easier if Rory were to come with me. They expect her to come at some point to deal with their threat."

"No friggen way!" Jess roared "I'm not letting them any where near her again." His arm that was around her waist tightened and pulled her closer to him

"Jess" Rory said trying to soothe him, she reached for his other hand and intertwined their fingers "Its okay" Jess just shook his head disagreeing, Rory squeezed his hand "Mom's right they're expecting me to go to them. I have the best chance of getting them on tape."

"Fine then I'll go with you." Jess said stubbornly

"You cant" said Lorelai "if my plan is going to work. They can't know you're here yet. I don't want to give them a chance to come up with another scheme."

"I don't care. They're ruthless and cruel and I don't like the idea of her being in that house." Jess said glaring at Lorelai

"I will be with her the entire time and I promise you, I won't let anything happen." Lorelai said willing him to believe her

"I'll drive them there" Luke spoke up "I can wait for them out in the truck, if it would make you feel better." Luke knew Jess still didn't completely trust Lorelai especially alone with Rory

Jess looked between his soon to be wife and uncle realizing he was out voted. Frustrated he clenched his jaw and raked his hand through his hair once again. He couldn't make him self say the words out loud so instead he just nodded his head in defeat. Rory gave him a quick hug and whispered in his ear that she would be fine. Jess still wasn't completely convinced but he relaxed slightly knowing Luke would be near by the entire time.

"Okay so I understand the whole black mail thing to get your parents to back off on Rory's college. But why the big wedding?" Lane asked drawing everyone's attention back to Lorelai for the answer

Lorelai smiled again glad some one asked. "Because it's not enough to just stop them from threatening Rory's education. They will just find another way to try and force her to do what they want." She looked at Rory and Jess "I know you guys won't give in to them, but who knows what they will pull. What if they go after Jess's career or Luke again? No, we have to stop them for good. And the only way to do that is to make them publicly except Jess into the family."

Rory smiled at her mother "I think I get it. That's why you asked Jess about the press release."

"Yep" Lorelai agreed "We are going to announce to the world that up and coming author Jess Mariano, is going to marry Richard and Emily Gilmores only granddaughter Lorelai Leigh, in an impromptu, but terribly romantic hometown wedding."

"Wow" said Lane getting excited

"Yeah Wow" said Rory impressed by her mother's guile

Lorelai just waved off there praise, getting down to business.

"This means we need to get our butts in gear cause we're going to need our evidence before the paper comes out tomorrow, I don't want to leave them any room to maneuver. The minute they see that announcement they'll be furious. I'm betting on their first call being to me for an explanation, at which point I will reveal the tape and our demands. Plus we have an entire wedding to plan and time is running out as we speak."

"What do you need us to do?" Luke asked

"First I need Jess to make that call. Second we need to call in reinforcements. Sookie and Michel can deal with most of the planning of the wedding, especially if we have it at the inn. Lane can handle the music." She paused to look at the Korean girl making sure. When lane nodded eagerly she continued. "Rory were going to need to use some of the connections you've made through school."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked

"Between Chilton and Yale you have quite a few friends with social standing, Paris and her parents for example. And I seem to remember Emily bragging about setting you up with some boy you work with on the newspaper. She was extremely excited telling me about his pedigree"

Jess perked up at this looking at Rory questioningly

"Logan Huntzberger" Rory acknowledged "Don't worry I made it clear I wasn't interested." she assured Jess

"He actually turned out to be a decent guy. His father is Mitchum Huntzberger the newspaper mogul. Logan can't stand him, so he spends most of his time trying to find ways to annoy him. I got to know Logan and his group of friends when I did an article on this secret Yale society he belongs to, The Life and Death brigade."

"Do you think he would be willing to help you?" Lorelai asked

"Probably, if I explain about Grandma and Grandpa, Logan's father is a lot like them so he can definitely relate." Rory answered

"Perfect, we need as many socialites as possible to be in attendance. Maybe we can even get Mitchum Huntzberger himself." Lorelai said excitedly

"Maybe" Rory agreed

The next few hours flew by in a flurry of activity. Jess's agent was thrilled with the news of his upcoming wedding, claiming they couldn't buy better publicity for his book. Rory, Lorelai and Lane spent their time on the phone making arrangements for the wedding and inviting guests. Before long Sookie and Michel joined the group and they too were busy making endless phone calls.

Luke was put in charge of feeding the gathering and making sure they had an endless flow of coffee. With amazing skill and determination they were able to arrange most of details of the nuptials. Lorelai suggested that they get Taylor to call a town meeting to announce their plans and get help with anything that might have been overlooked. He agreed after much coercion and threats from Luke and Jess. They had 2 hours before they all had to meet at Miss Patty's, and it was during this time that Lorelai and Rory would meet with the Gilmores.

**AN: Thank goodness I am finally done with this chapter. I hope it makes sense. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm really anxious to finish this because I promised myself I wouldn't start a new story till I did. Course now I have all these ideas floating around in my head driving me nuts. Quick question if I wrote a Literati/Liason (Jason and Liz from GH) cross over would you all be interested? **

Huddled in the back seat of Rory's car outside the Glimore mansion, Luke listened intently to Lorelai's pink cell phone clutched at his ear. He felt stupid hiding in the car, but the Lorelai's had convinced him it was better for their plan if he wasn't seen. When he argued that he wouldn't know if they needed him, Rory suggested leaving there cell phones on so he could hear what was going on inside.

He listened as Rory and Lorelai were shown inside by the Gilmore's newest maid. He heard Emily greet them haughtily and usher them into the parlor. Parlor, Luke thought disgustedly even there living room is pretentious. They spoke very little, Emily asked if they wanted drinks and announced that Richard would be joining them shortly when they refused. Silence washed over the group and even being in the car outside Luke could still pick on the tension coursing through that room. He prayed Richard would come soon so they could get what they needed and get out. He didn't have to wait long.

"It is good to see the two of you together again." He said almost cheerily "Already things are looking up. Soon you will both see how much better your lives will become under our guidance"

Luke heard Richards's words through the little phone and it took everything in him not to rush inside and beat the man senseless. He knew his patience was going to be sorely tested and was glad they were able to convince his hot tempered nephew to stay behind.

"Just so we all know where we stand, why don't you spell out your latest ploy to control my life." Rory spat out

Luke cheered her courage and strength. He knew the little recording devise was hidden in her cleavage, a thought he refused to dwell on, and prayed that it was picking up every word of their conversation.

"Now, now no need to dwell on the distasteful" Richard drawled "We all know what is at stake, there is no need to rehash it. We should discuss where we go from here."

Luke's gut clenched with worry at Richards refusal to go into detail, but before long he heard Lorelai's voice

"I didn't tell her what you said, I refused to repeat it. If you're going to threaten your only grandchild you will do it without my help. Go ahead Mom, Dad tell her what you'll do if she refused to bend to your sick demands."

"Really Lorelai, must you be so dramatic." Emily said disdainfully "You make it sound as if we are demanding her soul."

"Well then if you think my mother is being overly dramatic, why don't you explain it to me yourself?" Rory tried again

Luke smiled, they definitely didn't give up easily.

He heard Richard sigh "Very well…..As I explained to your mother, your turning eighteen has not in any way lessoned your need for guidance. Your grandmother and I fear your sudden lack of parental supervision will only lead you to more regrettable decisions, specifically rekindling your unfortunate relationship with Mr. Mariano. We have decided that you will move in here with us where we can help you stay on track and guide you in more healthy choices."

Luke gritted his teeth together and listened to the tense, angry silence that followed Richard's words.

"And if I decide this is my life and I am quite capable of making my own decisions without your help?

"Then your grandfather and I will take steps to discourage you." Emily replied icily

Grrrr! This is like pulling teeth. Damnit why can't they just speak plainly? Luke thought. They had no problem spitting out there threats earlier in front of the diner. Did they think if they didn't speak the words out loud Rory would hate them less?

"How dare you?" Rory yelled "What gives you the right to control my life? I don't need you two. I will pay for college on my own. And you can keep my trust fund I don't want anything from you."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. But unless you come to your senses you can forget about college" Richard said in a calm tone

"What do you mean I can forget college?" Rory asked

Luke sat up in the car forgetting his need to hide. His eyes closed tightly as he silently willed Richard to answer Rory's question.

"We don't want to do this but if you force our hand. I will use my influence and contacts to ensure you will not be accepted into University"

Yes!! Luke screamed in his head careful not to make a sound as he pumped his fist in excitement

"But I already attend Yale, you can't change that." Rory reminded him

Luke smiled at her guile she was playing him and he was falling right into their trap.

"You forget young lady I am on the board." He paused and cleared his throat "I've already explained your emotional upset and need to possibly take time off" Luke could swear he heard someone gasp, he thought it was probably Rory for effect

"You will not step foot there again without my assurances that you are stable and can devote yourself completely to your studies." He said snidely

"You told them I was unstable?" Rory hissed "My God, you two are unbelievable. I refuse to cower at your feet and that makes me unstable? I'm pretty sure there is a whole wing devoted to god complexes at the local institution, maybe you should check in"

Luke had to cover his mouth to stop himself from snickering into the phone. He could do nothing however to hide his huge grin

"Did you even think about what that kind of lie could do to my future career?" Rory yelled

"I'm sorry my dear but it was a necessary evil. One that I'm sure can be explained away in the future with very little embarrassment as long as you agree to cooperate." Emily said unapologetically

"So you admit it's a lie" Lorelai asked "You don't truly believe she's emotionally unstable?"

Luke realized what she was doing, she wanted them on tape admitting it so there could be no argument in the future.

"Of course we don't think she's unstable Lorelai." Emily said exasperated, Luke could almost hear Emily's eyes rolling at what she perceived to be Lorelai's stupidity "She is just misguided, and in need of a strong hand to show her back to the right path"

The room was once again plunged into silence. They had everything they needed; it was time for them to get out of that house. Luke was relieved when he finally heard Rory's voice.

"How long do I have to decide before you completely destroy my chances at a decent education?"

"We will give you a weeks time to pack your things and move into the house." Richard replied

"How generous" Lorelai said sarcastically

"You realize you have killed any feelings I might have had left for the two of you" Rory asked quietly

"We just hope one day you will understand we are only doing this because we love you so much" Emily said

Luke wanted to gag at her words did she truly see them as martyrs willing to give up their grandchild's love to save her from some evil. The pure entitlement that radiated off their every gesture proved how false that statement was. They weren't doing this for Rory. This was all about pride and the fact that they couldn't stand to lose control, they lost it over their daughter and would be damned if they would lose it again with Rory.

Luke was relieved to hear the sounds of rustling as they got up to leave the house. He made sure he was completely hidden once again. Just in case they were followed out. It wasn't long before the car doors opened and the two girls were safe inside.

No one spoke a word as Lorelai pulled away from the house and made her way through the rot iron gates. Finally when they were out of view of the estate, Luke got up from his crouched position and the car exploded in sighs of relief to finally be out of there. Rory pulled the mini recorder from out of her shirt front and bit her lip nervously. "Please let this have worked" she begged and pushed play

Silence filled the car once more as the occupants held their breath waiting. Suddenly Emily's demanding voice sounded only to be immediately drowned out by the whoops of glee from the girls. They listened to the whole exchange once again. Lorelai and Rory kept up a running commentary on what they were feeling and thinking at each an every moment. When it ended they once again cheered.

"I have to call Jess" Rory said her voice giddy as she grabbed her phone to dial.

"I can't wait to tell him. We got them! This can finally be over!" Rory said her voice choked up. "We got them!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: I want to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed. You guys are awesome. It was pointed out that I was in serious need of a Beta. I couldn't agree more. My husband reviewed my story and teased me for all my grammatical errors. He did fix most of them I believe. It should read much more smoothly. Let me know. **

Jess and Lane met the rest of their group outside Miss Patty's later that day and the five walked into the meeting together. Jess, Rory and Lane took seats in the front row and after a lot of arguing with Taylor, Lorelai was able to take over the podium and address the town with Luke standing beside her.

"I know you all are curious about why we've asked you to come here today" Lorelai began

The crowd rumbled in agreement. "That's not all were curious about Sugar" Babbette rasped

"As I'm sure you all have noticed Jess is back in town and he and Rory are back together." Lorelai said trying to keep control of the meeting

"Couldn't miss that sweet little package; Rory is definitely a lucky girl" Miss Patty purred, looking Jess over like a piece of meat. Jess cringed and moved closer to Rory.

"Umm thank you Miss Patty" Rory said giggling a little at Jess's discomfort.

"Soo Anyways. Jess and Rory want to get married and were planning on going to the courthouse today. But I convinced them that they should let us throw them a wedding at the inn tomorrow instead. And we could really use your help."

The crowd erupted into rumbling murmurs and speculation.

"I'm sorry Doll but since when are you a fan of Jess and Rory being together." Babbette asked

"Yes Lorelai, I thought you realized that this hoodlum shouldn't be anywhere near your daughter." Taylor added sneering at Jess.

"Hey! Jess is not a hoodlum" Rory defended

"It's okay Ror" Jess said not wanting her to get upset

"No, it's not" Rory said looking straight at Taylor

Several more people spoke up wanting an explanation. Eventually it was impossible to hear anyone over the loud arguing that filled the room. Lorelai tried everything she could to gain control of the meeting, but nobody was listening. Suddenly a loud piercing whistle blasted over the ruckus, silencing everyone at once. Lorelai turned to see Luke, fingers still poised near his lips, scowling at the crowd.

"I believe the lady was speaking" he admonished everyone

'Thank you Luke" Lorelai said gratefully "Listen I know this comes as a shock. But I was wrong about Jess. We all were."

"Tell that to Pierpont" Babbette yelled out

"Hey! I returned him unharmed" Jess defended himself

"Jess" Rory warned giving him a look to let him know he wasn't helping.

"Okay……… sorry Babbette. I promise it will never happen again." Jess said, a fake smile pasted on his face. Clearly uncomfortable at having to apologize.

"As I was saying." Lorelai began again "Jess, although he has done some foolish things in the past, is very much in love with Rory and wants nothing more than to make her happy. Right Jess?" she prompted

"Yes" Jess agreed, Rory elbowed him letting him know he needed to say more to convince them. Jess gave her a look and almost growled at her that he would be collecting his reward later.

Standing to address the crowd Jess took a deep breath. "Listen, I know you all think I'm going to hurt Rory in some way. But I promise you, it is the last thing I want. I really do love her and we are going to be married whether you like it or not. But for Rory's sake we would like you all to be there." That said he sat back down beside Rory and was instantly rewarded with a kiss on the cheek.

Lorelai was about to speak again but was interrupted by the sound of someone clapping. Everyone turned at once to see where the noise was coming from.

"Wow, great speech." Came a deep sarcastic voice. Jess stiffened beside Rory, instantly recognizing the voice of his most hated foe.

"Dean" Rory said with dread, her eyes never leaving Jess.

"One problem, if you love her so much where have you been the last year?" Dean asked disgustedly. Rory was just about to tell him to go to hell when he interrupted her.

"Damn Rory, when did you become such a doormat? The guy walks out on you, ruins your relationship with your mom and you just take him back with open arms like nothing happened."

Rory could feel Jess tense beside her. She grabbed his hand in hers and used her other one to force him to look at her.

"Please don't" She whispered knowing he would like nothing more than to beat Dean within an inch of his life. Jess couldn't resist the pleading look in her eyes. Shaking his head he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and squeezed his fist until his knuckles turned white.

"Awe Jeez Bag Boy! Don't you have a wife at home you need to get back to?" Jess asked his jaw clenched almost painfully.

Lorelai knew if she didn't do something Dean would push Jess too far and the two would start beating on each other. She turned to Luke for help but he was already barreling toward the younger man. Stopping right in front of him, Luke thrust his finger in Dean's face.

"You need to leave. Rory made her choice and you lost. Go home, to Lindsey before I throw you out of here on your ass"

Dean straightened himself to his full height and glared at Jess over Luke's shoulder. "What's the matter Jess, can't fight your own battles now? Or are you afraid to lose in front of Rory?"

Jess smirked and turned to look at the taller man. "Were not 17 any more, I don't need to fight you Dean. I know Rory loves me, we're getting married. You will never be anything more than Rory's first boyfriend. Now go home you're not wanted here."

"You heard him Dean GO!" Rory said before she turned back to Jess and gave him a bright smile and a hug, letting him know how proud she was of him. Defeated Dean turned to leave grumbling about Rory regretting her decision later and how he wouldn't be there to pick up the pieces. When he was gone all eyes turned back to them.

"You know young lady; Dean does bring up a good point. Why are you so eager to take Jess back after he left you behind more than a year ago?" Taylor asked

"Yeah Doll, he left and you and your mom haven't been the same since. And what the hell is going on with your Grandparents" Babbette yelled as Miss Patty nodded her head in agreement.

Rory walked up to the podium where her mother stood. She knew if she wanted the town's support she would have to give them an explanation. But the thought of Angel's death becoming the next juicey topic for the gossips, made her sick. They would never really understand everything, she and Jess had gone through and she didn't want their pitty. Finally deciding what she wanted them to know, she began to speak.

"I know everyone is curious about the last two years of my life. But there are some things I would rather not discuss with the whole town and I ask that you respect our privacy and leave it alone. What I can tell you is that Jess never wanted to leave me. He was forced out of town by my grandparents who threatened to destroy Luke's business if he didn't go. But not a single day has past since he left, that we haven't wanted to be together. My grandparents don't think Jess is good enough and will stop at nothing to get rid of him. They want me to move in with them so they can control me and are threatening to destroy my education if I don't agree." She waited to hear what their response was to what she had told them.

"What do you need from us Doll?" Babbette asked

Thankful, Rory smiled at her. "I'm glad you asked. Mom has come up with a plan to force my grandparents to accept Jess in my life, but we're going to need your help to pull it off."

Lorelai spent the next half hour explaining her plan and outlining what she needed from each of them. By the time the meeting had ended, the town of Stars Hollow was behind the young couple 100 percent and was eager to help any way they could.

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update. I hope to have the next chapter soon.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story. **

**AN: I debated while writing the last chapter whether I wanted Jess to beat up Dean. As much as I liked the idea of Dean bleeding, I decided it would be more hurtful to Bag Boy if Jess made it clear that he didn't find Dean a threat to his relationship and therefore not worth his time or effort. Oh if you haven't noticed I'm not a big Dean fan. Anyways quick question anyone interested in Tristan making a cameo appearance? **

Luke, Lorelai, Jess and Rory made their way tiredly into the now closed diner. Luke went straight for the coffee maker, while the other three found a table and slumped down into the awaiting chairs. Rory laid her head on the table and groaned while Jess slowly rubbed her back.

"Sooo tired" she grumbled "Never getting married again"

Jess smirked "Good to know, you plan on keeping me."

"Ummmm…..love you Dodger" she mumbled sleep overtaking her

Lorelai and Jess couldn't help but laugh at her rambling.

"She never did function well without sleep" Lorelai said smiling at her daughter fondly

"It's been a long day; I'm amazed at all we got it all done." Luke said coming over with 2 cups of coffee and setting them on the table "I made you and I some tea if you want to grab our cups off the counter." he told Jess

Rory snapped awake as soon the cups touched the table.

"Coffee" she purred grabbing her cup and gulping it down.

"Hot, hot, hot" she said waving her hand in front of her mouth. "Umm so worth it, more please" she said holding her cup out to Jess when he walked back to the table.

Luke just rolled his eyes at her and grumbled at Jess's back when he took her cup and headed toward the coffee maker.

"You're seriously going to help her kill herself with caffeine." Luke asked

"I learned quickly to never get between a Gilmore and her coffee" he smirked. "Lorelai are you ready for more?" Jess asked knowing it would only annoy his uncle further.

"Yes please, just bring the pot."

"Oooooh and donuts" Rory chimed in.

"Hey Luke you got any pie" Lorelai asked innocently

"Must you? If your hungry I can make you a sandwich or how bout some soup. Caesar made a big pot of vegetable soup before he left."

Rory and Lorelai looked at each other and started laughing.

"That's funny Luke. I forgot how funny you are. Now what kind of pie do you have?" Lorelai asked smiling at him.

"Just give in Luke you know their going to get their way in the end anyways." Jess told him already reaching for the donuts on the counter.

Luke got up grumbling but soon returned with a cherry pie in hand.

"Yay" Rory cheered as she and her mother scooped out big pieces for them selves.

Jess rejoined them at the table and Rory fed him a bite of her pie.

"Okay that's enough of your cuteness. I'm trying to eat here." Lorelai cried pretending to be disturbed.

Rory giggled and Jess pulled her closer to him kissing her once and rubbing his nose against hers, before looking back at Lorelai to gage her reaction. When she pushed away her pie and pretended to be sick Jess couldn't help but grin in triumph.

After a moment Lorelai got a sly look on her face and turned to Jess.

"So where do you plan on sleeping tonight?"

"Back at the apartment with Rory…..why?"

"Nope sorry you can't…. The groom can't see the bride before the wedding it's bad luck." Lorelai said a huge grin plastered on her face

"Huh, I guess it's a good thing I'm not superstitious." Jess smirked believing he had won the argument.

"Jess" Rory spoke softly

Jess turned to look at her already pouting he whispered.

"C'mon Ror, I just got back I don't want to be away from you again."

"I know but its only one night and it's tradition besides we could use all the luck we can get." Rory whispered back giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

Defeated Jess looked to Luke "Can I stay here tonight?" He could see Lorelai grinning and scowled at her.

Lorelai held back a laugh but suddenly got very serious. Looking at her daughter she began to bite her lip worriedly.

"Umm Rory, I was wondering. I need to finish altering your dress and I hate to see you drive all the way to your apartment just to come back here in the morning. Would you want to stay at the house tonight? Your room is all ready for you."

Rory stiffened, although she and Lorelai had gotten along for most of the day. They hadn't really spent any time alone together Jess, Lane or Luke had always been there to act as a buffer between them. She wasn't sure she knew how to be alone with her any longer. And a part of her was still hurt from her treatment of Jess in the past and wasn't ready to completely let that go. But when Rory looked at her she could tell how eager she was for her to say yes and knew how hurt she would be if she refused. Taking a deep breath she managed to smile at her.

"I think that's a good idea, it will be nice to be close by."

After kissing Jess goodbye and grabbing one more cup of coffee, Rory and Lorelai headed back to the Crap Shack.

**Crap Shack**

Rory was standing in the middle of Lorelai's room on a stool as Lorelai knelt in front of her and finished pinning the gown she was wearing.

"So did you call your dad to let him know about tomorrow?"

"I left a message on his machine. He hasn't called me back." Rory answered stiffly

"He loves you kid he just doesn't know how to show it."

"I'm sorry Mom but if he loved me so much he would have been there while I was growing up. And you know, he hasn't even tried to contact me since Angel's death. I know I told him to leave but he gave up pretty easy." Rory said angrily

"Your right….I'm sorry….so if he calls back?" Lorelai asked

"He will be invited, but I am walking myself down the aisle."

Lorelai nodded sadly, she hated that Christopher was such a poor father to Rory. The boy she loved as a teenager never managed to grow up. Deciding to drop the subject Lorelai went back to pinning.

"It's lucky you and I are almost the same size most of the alterations I'm doing are to make it more to your style than mine."

"The dress is beautiful Mom" Lorelai smiled and looked up at Rory.

"I know I never actually got married in it, but it's kinda nice that you're wearing my dress for your wedding." Lorelai said quietly

Rory smiled back at her and nodded.

"And who knows maybe your daughter will want to wear it too" As Lorelai said the words she immediately wanted to take them back she could see the pain flash in Rory's eyes at her careless words. Placing her pins back in the cushion on the floor, Lorelai looked up at her again.

"Do you and Jess plan of having more children?"

Rory took a deep breath and pushed her hair behind her ear trying to compose herself.

"We would like to." Rory sighed "But to be honest it's scary, I don't know if we could handle losing another child."

Lorelai nodded remembering how broken Rory was after Angel died. Jess seemed to just close up. He became fiercely protective of Rory and Lorelai believed at the time he was more afraid of losing his hold on her without the baby to tie her to him, than actually grieving the loss of the child. Looking back now she felt ashamed of her thoughts. Maybe Jess was hurt too.

"You can't let that fear stop you from trying again. What happened with Angel was horrible but the doctors said you can still have a healthy pregnancy, they would just have to monitor you more closely."

Rory nodded smiling a little. "You sound like Jess." Lorelai's head snapped up giving her a questioning look.

Rory couldn't help but smile and shake her head at her mother's surprise.

"You really have no idea who the real Jess is."

"Well he doesn't exactly make it easy to find out." Lorelai defended

"Your right, he doesn't trust to many people."

"So tell me" She laughed "What is the real Jess like behind all the sarcasm and smart ass remarks."

Rory couldn't help but laugh "Oh don't get me wrong he's still a smart ass and he is infuriatingly stubborn." "But" Rory said her voice becoming softer "he is also the most gentle and kind man I have ever met. Don't ever repeat this but he reminds me a lot of Luke."

"Really" Lorelai asked surprised by the comparison, true the two were related but Luke always reminded her of a big teddy bear with a gruff exterior, not an image she would apply to Jess.

Rory nodded again smiling "I wish you could have seen him while I was pregnant. He was so excited, he loved to feel her kick and he must have spent hours talking to her. I think he wanted to prove he could be a good dad even though he never had one himself."

"I'm glad" Lorelai said finally excepting that Jess was a different man for her daughter.

"Well I think it's done…..What do you think?" Lorelai asked standing up and turning Rory so she could see her reflection in the full length mirror behind her. The dress was very simple yet elegant. Strapless with a wide band of satin at the waist, and a short train in the back, Rory felt like a princess.

"It's beautiful, Thank you……for everything" Rory said quietly. As Lorelai went to move away Rory grabbed her in a fierce hug. "I missed you" She whispered tears beginning to fall.

Lorelai had to choke back tears of her own. "I missed you too kid" she whispered back.

**AN: Alright the next chapter will finally be the wedding and The Gilmore's reaction. I wanted Rory and Lorelai to have a moment to themselves before all the major stuff happened. Oh and I've finished my first chapter of my next story. It's a crossover fic between GH's Jason and Elizabeth and Literati. I will probably be posting it here in the next few days. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story**

**AN: Sorry, sorry, sorry!!! I know it's been forever since I updated. (Ducks for cover) I've been caught up in my real life drama and kinda let this slip to the wayside. I knew when I got a review that said nothing but UPDATE!! That I might have let it go for to long. LOL!! I will do my best to not let it happen again.**

**Crap Shack 5:30 Am**

Rory woke to the sound of the front door closing followed closely by her mother's jeep leaving the driveway. Stretching, she smiled when she felt a weight shift beside her. Jess was curled up facing her with his right leg trapping hers and his arm flung loosely around her waist. She had no idea when he came in; guessing he must of used her window at some point during the early morning. She tried to convince him when he called the night before that he should sleep at the diner just this one last time for traditions sake but he must have known her argument was half hearted at best. Shaking her head and kissing him lightly she decided to get up and see where her mother left to so early. As she tried to disentangle herself, Jess's arm tightened around her and pulled her back down. Giggling when he appeared to still be asleep, she tried again. This time though his leg shifted to pin her down as he pulled her body under his.

"Jess!" she squeaked

"Where do you think you're going? The sun isn't even up" he grumbled as he began kissing her jaw and trailing kisses down her neck.

"Mom just left…. and I….mmmm…. wanted to find out….. what she's up to" Rory bit out breathlessly as she halfheartedly tried to reach out for her cell phone sitting on her side table. Jess just pulled her arm back entwining their fingers.

"I'm sure she's just checking up on things. She's a big girl she'll be fine. This is our day Ror" He whispered his hands slipping under her tank top carressing her skin as he captured her lips.

"Mmmmm..But Jess…" she tried once more

"Shhh" he said kissing her fiercely not letting up till he felt her respond and was sure she wouldn't try to leave the bed again.

**Gilmore Residence 6:00 AM**

The Gilmore's sat at the dining room table sipping coffee. Richard drummed his fingers restlessly on the table scowling at the room at large obviously waiting for something.

"So Dear, how are your preparations going? Do you think you will have everything ready for when Rory moves in?" He asked

"I believe so; I've had her room completely redecorated. I took the liberty of ordering her a new wardrobe. And I've gone through her schedule and made sure she will have plenty of activities to keep her busy when she isn't at school. I'm sure once she sees how much better her life will be, it won't be long before she's thanking us for stepping in."

"Good, good" he said absently as he scowled once more at the doorway while checking his watch.

Emily threw her napkin down on the table annoyed he didn't seem to be listening to her.

"I told you I should have fired that girl yesterday when she served dinner 10 minutes late. But you insisted I was being too hard on her." Emily said smugly

"Obviously I underestimated her incompetence. How hard is it to retrieve a paper? I don't ask for much. But I have my routines and they include a cup of coffee, a half of grapefruit and the MORNING PAPER! If the girl can't get such a simple task right then she needs to be fired and I apologize for not heeding your word yesterday." Richard seethed

"Alma" Emily roared "Where is Mr. Gilmore's……"

"Good Morning Mom, Dad were you looking for this?" Lorelai cheerfully interrupted, the missing paper held just out of either of their reach.

"Lorelai, what is the meaning of this?" Richard asked annoyed

Lorelai couldn't help but smile 'This is going to be fun' she thought

"Alma" Emily bellowed once again "Where is that girl?"

"Oh don't bother calling her she's already left." Lorelai said sweetly

"What do you mean she left?" Emily asked acidly

"She overheard you talking about firing her and agreed that a job at the inn would be more secure and is heading there now to fill out an application."

"You…you offered my maid a job at your inn?" Emily stammered

"Yes, yes but that's beside the point" Lorelai cut her off waving her hand dismissively. "We have much more important things to discuss."

"Why are you here Lorelai?" Richard asked suspiciously

"Glad you asked Dad" Lorelai smiled sweetly, walking over to him and patting him on the shoulder as if congratulating him on his accomplishment. Richard glared at her but she just smiled back.

"You see there are some new developments that I thought you might like to hear from me first. To be completely honest, I was going to let you read about them in the paper this morning but it just seemed inconsiderate and I wouldn't want you to think you didn't raise me correctly."

Both Emily and Richard were seething at this point the anger was radiating off of them in waves. Lorelai could feel their hostility and couldn't help but smile bigger because of it.

"What ever you have done it will not work." Richard stated plainly "Rory will be moving in here by the end of the week or she can forget about college nothing you do will change that fact."

"Will see" Lorelai said as she handed him the paper

Emily walked over to her him so she could peer over his shoulder at the society column of the paper.

_**GILMORE HEIRESS TO WED UP AND COMING AUTHOR TODAY!**_

"What is the meaning of this?" Richard bellowed

"Ohh keep reading" Lorelai cooed "It's really a sweet article she compares them to the Billy Joel song _Uptown Girl._ To be completely honest it's not one of my faves but it is definitely fitting. And I love the picture don't you?"

A picture of Rory standing next to Jess flanked on either side by the older Gilmore's smiled up from the article.

"We never posed for this picture." Emily screeched

"Isn't it wonderful what can be done with modern technology? We looked as hard as we could but just couldn't find a picture to give the columnist. So Rory's friend Logan suggested enhancing one we knew you wouldn't mind."

"Logan… Logan Huntzberger?!!!" Emily asked her face very pale

"Yep I'm pretty sure that's what his last name was. Nice kid he'll be at the wedding today along with a bunch of his friends from some society he belongs to. Hmmmmmmm some sort of brigade. Well anyways."

"The Life and Death Brigade" She heard Emily breath as she clutched the table in front of her obviously stunned.

"If you think this is going to change anything you're wrong" Richard bellowed "I'll call the paper myself and let them know that you faked that picture and I will personally ensure that whatever writing career that boy thinks he has will be over before it starts!"

"Now that's where you're wrong Dad." Lorelai said calmly "You will not only forget about any further threats against Rory and Jess, but will in fact attend their wedding with big smiles and make sure everyone knows that they have your blessing."

"And why would we ever do that!" Emily asked

"Because if you don't a tape of our conversation from yesterday will be sent out to every paper in the state"

The room got eerily quiet. Richard and Emily were obviously at a loss. Shocked to have been beaten at their own game but not quite ready to admit defeat.

"How do I know such a tape actually exists?" Richard asked quietly

Lorelai smiled and reached into her purse producing the small digital recorder and pressing play. The room was instantly filled with Richards's voice explaining how he would destroy Rory's college career. Emily lunged for the device succeeding in knocking it from Lorelai's hand and stomping it with her high heals.

"Looks like your proof is gone, now what are you going to do." Emily asked smugly still out of breath from moving so quickly

Lorelai just shook her head sadly "Jess is going to be annoyed that you broke his recorder" She tisked "I guess it's a good thing we made lots of copies isn't it?" She asked smiling at them triumphantly

"How can you do this Lorelai, don't you see that you're helping her to throw away her future. This boy doesn't love her he just wants her money. He's not good enough for her and will only end up hurting her. You're supposed to be her mother how can you not want to save her from that?" Emily yelled

Lorelai just shook her head "I'm sorry it had to be like this" she said sadly "But you will never understand and I'm sick of fighting with you about this. Rory is happy with Jess, she loves him and as much as you refuse to believe this, he loves her too. Now their getting married today and I hope that you will be there. But if you decide you can't without trying to find ways to ruin it, then don't bother I'm sure I can make an excuse for you absence. I'm warning you though the first sign that you're plotting against them, I will personally hand deliver that recording to the biggest Society columnist in the state."

Satisfied Lorelai grabbed a muffin nodded at her parents and calmly left the room. She couldn't help the grin that plastered itself on her face when she heard something smash against the dining room wall as she let herself out.

**AN: Once again I'm sorry for the delay. Oh and on a different note I was watching ****Here Comes The Son**** the other day, and it dawned on me that the same woman (Sherilyn Fenn) that played Jimmy's girlfriend (Sasha) played Luke's daughter's mom(Anna) later on the show. I was so surprised that I never noticed it before. I guess the bleach blonde hair threw me. Oh and have you all been watching Heroes I love that they're giving Peter a love interest. Maybe we can finally get some good fanfic that doesn't incestuously pair him with his niece on the show. Cause Yuck!!! **


	18. Chapter 19

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story.**

**AN: Grrr! I had this chapter almost finished and had to start over again. I apologize for the long wait. My asthma has gone from being annoying to trying to kill me. All the medicines the doctors have me on aren't really conducive to higher thought processes. In other words they seriously F#$ me up. LOL!**

**6:30 am**

Lorelai quietly peered into her daughter's room, anxious to tell her about her meeting with Richard and Emily. Gazing at her bed she wasn't shocked to see Rory wasn't alone in it. _He must have snuck in last night some time. _Lorelai thought as she struggled not to physically drag the obviously naked man from her little girl's bed. Jess lay on his side facing Rory her legs trapped between his and his arm flung over her waste while Rory had her head buried in his chest. Lorelai couldn't help but notice how serene they looked. She also couldn't help but notice the blanket barely covering Jess's backside or the tattoo that peaked out beneath. Covering her mouth to stifle her giggle, she quickly escaped to the living room where she gave into her glee. _Her poor son-in-law_ Lorelai thought with an evil grin. Jess had just unknowingly given her enough ammunition to torment him for years to come. Lorelai quickly made her way outside to make sure Jess couldn't escape and ruin her fun.

**6:45 am**

Jess and Rory finally began to stir. Hearing a noise in the kitchen Jess decided it would be best if he made a hasty exit out the window. Luke would be up by now and he wanted to help him with the last minute preparations and deliveries to the inn. Plus there was the added bonus of not having to deal with Lorelai first thing in the morning. Kissing Rory he got up to search the room for his clothes.

"Your leaving?" Rory asked with a pout

"Yeah" Jess said as he pulled on his pants "I think your mom is back and I'm sure she and Lane will be busting in here any minute to get you up. I would much rather they not catch us breaking the bad luck rule."

Rory couldn't help but laugh as she threw him his shirt that had ended up on her side of the bed.

"It's a good thing we don't believe in luck cause we definitely did some rule breaking this morning."

"And you loved every minute of it" Jess teased as he climbed back into bed with her, nuzzling her neck and trailing kisses ever lower on her body.

"Ummm you better believe it" Rory panted a noise from the kitchen brought her back to reality and she had to smack Jess's arm to get him to stop. "Jess you better go." "Go!" She said when he still hesitated.

"Fine" Jess said stealing another kiss before heading to her window. As he pushed the latch he was surprised when it seemed to be stuck. Pushing harder he gave Rory a look when it still wouldn't budge.

"Jess" Rory warned thinking he was playing with her. "You have to go"

"I know Ror, I'm not kidding it won't open" Pushing the curtains aside they couldn't help but notice the Hello Kitty umbrella wedged against the outside casing.

"Shit" "Mom" they both said as the same time. Just then the door swung open to reveal Lorelai with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Good Morning" she called sounding overly bright.

**7:00 am Crapshack kitchen**

Rory, Jess and Lorelai sat at the kitchen table. Rory fidgeted with her cup of coffee as Lorelai happily hummed beside her. The tune which Jess hated to admit he knew was definitely starting to bother him. Deciding making her talk would at least stop the noise, Jess spoke up.

"So are you going to tell us where you went this morning? I'm guessing from your happy mood something good happened." He was still a little shocked she hadn't mentioned finding him in Rory's room.

"I went to see my parents"

"You did! Mom how did it go? Are they going to back down? Will they be at the wedding? Did you tell them about the tape?"

Lorelai giggled and couldn't help but get just as excited as she relayed what happened.

"So they'll be at the wedding?" Jess asked again when she finished her account.

"That I'm not sure of." Lorelai admitted "I told them if they couldn't be there without trying to ruin it then they shouldn't come. We might have to come up with an excuse to explain their absence."

Rory and Jess just nodded relieved that the worst of it was over. They could finally relax and enjoy their wedding day. Lorelai got up to make another pot of coffee and began her tune once again. "LA LA La LA LA LA….. LA…. La LA LA LA" Jess began to squirm as she continued to sing.

"Did you ever wonder why Smurfette was the only girl smurf? I mean I guess it would be cool in a way. The girl always had men falling at her feet. She never had to worry about getting a date "

"Huh" Jess mumbled

"Mom what's up with the smurf fascination this morning? Were you up late watching Boomerang or something?"

"Nah, I had a different visual aid this morning."

"So Jess" She couldn't help but smile as Jess seemed to slump further into his chair. "Who was your favorite smurf?"

"Ahh Jeez! I told you I should have had the damn thing removed." Jess said scowling at Rory, who was trying her best not to give into the laughter that was building within her.

"I happen to like Brainy" She said giggling a little.

"I knew this would happen" Jess said getting up.

"You knew that someday my mother would see your naked ass and tease you about your tattoo?"

"I was drunk, I passed out" Jess said defensively "My friend's older brother was a tattoo artist I woke up with it" Lorelai and Rory couldn't hold it in anymore and almost fell off their chairs laughing so hard.

"That's it I'm out of here" Jess huffed as he headed for the back door.

"Love you Baby" Rory called after him lost once again in a fit of giggles.

"Yeah Yeah" Jess grumped back.

**Okay it's not as good as the first time around but I wanted to get it posted so there you go. Only one more chapter left. I hope to have it posted by the end of the week. Thanks again for all your reviews. You guys are the best.**


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter 19**

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own em.**

**AN: This is it. I am finally ending this story. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed you guys have made this such a joyful experience. Special thanks goes to; Curly-Q, Hollowgirl22, EmeraldLily06, Literati and Naley forever, Watergurl123 and Nikki who each reviewed almost every chapter. I should list all your names cause you all were so wonderful and your kind words and encouragement are the only reason this story is here to begin with. **

Lorelai couldn't help the tears that fell as she looked at her very grown up daughter in her wedding dress. The wedding was just about to begin and they were standing just inside the doors to the inn waiting for their cue. Immense pride swelled through her as she realized just how strong and courageous the woman standing before her truly was. She liked to believe she had a small part in that. But she knew most of the credit belonged to Rory herself. She hated to think back on the last 2 years and realize just how lonely her daughter must have been. She kept everything to herself; grieving not only the loss of her child but the absence of the man that she loves. She had no one to turn to for support, and yet she didn't crumble instead she only grew stronger. Her love and absolute belief in Jess was awe inspiring and Lorelai was humbled to admit she was so wrong about everything.

Rory looked out the glass doors, nervousness swamping over her as she saw the immense crowd of guests that awaited her. She expected to see the whole town but the amount of socialites that were mixed in with her beloved characters was astounding. Logan really came through when he said he would help. She knew from her mother that her grandparents had arrived earlier and were putting on quite the show. Acting as the supportive monarchs of their little family, even going so far as to pose for pictures with Jess, all the while praising their granddaughter foresight in picking such a talented man as her partner in life. Her mother enjoyed describing the pained smile Jess forced on his face, as he listened to her grandparents vomit inducing sweetness. Rory was just glad they were behaving even if it was just to save face in front of so many people of social status.

Not everything was going as smoothly; her father had evidently gotten her message and decided to show up. He assumed he would be walking her down the aisle and didn't take the news well when she informed him he was wrong. As sorry as she felt for hurting him, she refused to back down. If he wanted a relationship with her he would need to earn it. She deserved a father who would fight to keep her in his life and she wouldn't settle for anything less. He left the room looking hurt and dejected and Rory was not surprised to hear he didn't stay for the wedding. As much as she would love a relationship with him, she had gotten along for eighteen years without him and she would not let him ruin this day for her. Today was about finally being with the man she loves and she would enjoy every minute of it.

Jess stood at the alter staring out at the crowd before him. He was nervous but more than that he was excited. Luke stood beside him in his tux beaming with pride with Zach on his right a goofy grin plastered in place. Jess really didn't know Zach but he seemed like a decent guy and Rory insisted that Lane had to have someone to walk down the aisle with or her side would be all lopsided. Jess really didn't care he just wanted to be married to her Taylor and Kirk could be standing there and he would still be dying with anticipation. The whole morning had drug on forever the only relief he got was when a small fight broke out in the diner.

Jess couldn't help but laugh as he remembered a very drunk Dean laid flat out across the diner floor. The only thing he regretted was that he himself hadn't put him there. Nope that honor belonged to a guy named Tristan Dugray. It turns out he was visiting his old friend Logan when he heard about the wedding and couldn't resist showing up and seeing "Mary" as he insisted on calling her, get married. It seems Dean and he had a history and he didn't take kindly to Bag boy's claims that Rory was a slut and would regret ever leaving him. He decided the wedding would go much smoother if Dean wasn't conscience to enjoy it. Jess instantly liked the guy, he knew from Rory that at one time Tristan had a thing for her but that was years before and something told him he didn't have to worry.

Just then the music began to play and Jess could barely contain his excitement as Lorelai began to walk down the aisle with Lane following not to far behind. They seemed to be walking in slow motion and Jess had to control himself from yelling at them to hurry up.

Inside Rory heard the first few notes of Here Comes The Bride and knew it was her cue. Taking a steadying breath she began to walk down the long runner. As soon as she caught sight of Jess in his tux she forgot about everything else and barely registered the people around her. Later she would find it hard to recall anything about the actual ceremony. She remembered locking onto Jess's beautiful coffee colored eyes and losing herself in the love and pure need radiating off of them. The only parts she could recall with any clarity were Jess's softly spoken vows and the passion filled kiss when the reverend finally pronounced them man and wife.

Five years have passed since then and Rory and Jess have made a life for themselves in a small town right outside the city. Jess has published two books since then and was pleasantly surprised when the second one made the best sellers list. Rory having finally finished college is enjoying her job as a copy writer for a small magazine. She will admit that it's not her dream job but being an over seas correspondent doesn't seem as important as being a mom to her beautiful baby boy. She and Lorelai have continued to repair their relationship. The baby helped to heal a lot of old wounds. Rory felt nothing but love and support as both her mother and husband were in the room with her to greet Daniel Lucas Mariano as he came into the world. Luke waited outside.

They had little contact with her grandparents after the wedding. Except for the occasional card at holidays and birthdays they kept their distance. Rory received a letter after Danny's birth informing her of a trust set up in his name, but aside from that no word of congratulations. She wasn't surprised and refused to be hurt. Happily Christopher finally realized he wanted to have a part in their lives and has made an effort to get to know his grandson and build a real relationship with his daughter. Rory couldn't be more thrilled.

Luke and Lorelai continued to dance around each other for a few years but finally got together last spring. They are now planning their own wedding and are excitedly awaiting Rory's sister. Their lives aren't all perfect and rosy all the time but their happy and finally together.

**AN: I know a little corny but I felt the need to wrap everything up and tie it with a pretty red bow. It is almost Christmas you know. LOL!!**

**Thanks again!!**

**Diane**


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